Life After
by addictedtoOITNB
Summary: Piper/Alex 4 years post Litchfield. Madly in love, inevitable, and having the rest of their lives together. Just a little bit of a story about life for Vauseman, and how things unfold for them… Reviews, follows, favorites, and any feedback are greatly appreciated!
1. What Do You Say?

Background: It's four years since Piper and Alex have been released from Litchfield. Piper had served her time, and despite Alex's parole violation, she was released shortly after Piper, which was much earlier than expected.

Of course Piper had waited for Alex to get out. Piper goes back into working for Polly on PoPi. Alex has a hard time getting a job, obviously, for a convicted felon, it is tough. Piper has an idea though. Since Alex was good at importing and exporting drugs, why wouldn't she be good at importing and exporting homemade soap/bath products? She was good at it then, and at least now what she would be doing is legal. Well, it turns out Alex can honestly import and export anything, really well. Two years after they get out, they are married, and move into an apartment in Manhattan. Business is good, and they're happy. Fast forward 2 more years, and here we are!

Chapter 1: What do you say?

Alex hangs up the phone after talking to a shipping facility in California. Turns out, people in California really like PoPi and it has really started taking off, filling stores all over the state, and that's just one of the places it's been successful. PoPi is everywhere, and thanks to Alex's skill in shipping and selling, she makes PoPi hugely successful nation wide…hopefully soon to be international.

Zoned out for a second, Alex feels two arms wrap around her shoulders, tangling her up in warmth. Home. Piper. She inhales the scent of her gorgeous wife, and reaches up and grabs hold of one of Piper's arms gently, and then leans her head to rest on Piper's shoulder.

"Tired?" the blonde asks.

"Yes, that phone call was exhausting. I just need a drink and some sweat pants, and maybe a little bit of unwinding from this week." Alex says, slightly tensing on Piper's arm and winking at her.

"I think we can do something about that" she replies flirtatiously.

They get in the car and drive the 20 minutes back to their apartment. It has been a long couple of months without any breaks, and a lot of stress.

"Bora Bora," Alex says

"What?" Piper asks

"Bora Bora…let's go. We haven't been on a vacation in almost 2 years, and I need to get away for a bit. WE need to get a way for a little while. Sun, relaxation, and seeing you in a little black bikini sounds like heaven right now." Alex says, closing her eyes, imagining it, and smiling.

"We can't just leave Polly hanging like that for a couple of weeks." Piper chimes in

"Of course we can. I've set all the shipping dates for the next month, settled payments and everything….trust me I'm good. We can go."

"Well, when?"

"Friday." Alex says quickly

"That's in two days, Alex! I can't just go in two days. There's a lot of planning gthta goes into a trip, and payments, and hotels, and everything. We can't do that in two days."

"You're right…so that's why I already planned it." Alex says, with a little smirk slipping across her face.

"You didn't." Piper says, shocked, even though this is a totally Alex Vause thing to do.

"Yeah…and Polly knows. It's our anniversary next Wednesday, and so it's planned and you don't have to worry about anything except for packing some clothes to last for two weeks and getting on that plane with me on Friday."

Piper is standing in the door way of their bedroom this whole time, and slowly started making her way to Alex who is laying on the bed, propped up against the headboard in a Guns and Roses T shirt and a pair of black boy shorts underwear.

Piper makes her way over to Alex, climbs up onto the bed, and straddles her wife, placing her hands on either side of Alex's face.

"I heart you." She says

"I heart you too. Are you excited?!" Alex asks, kissing Piper gently.

"Yes!" Piper says, almost in a squeal.

She kisses Alex back, and then the kiss deepens. Alex holds on to Piper's waist, steadying her through the slow and deep kiss. Both feel a heat come over them, and Alex grabs Piper's shirt and lifts it over her head, and then quickly does the same to her. She grabs Piper firmly and is able to roll them both over so that Piper is now lying on the bed, and Alex is hovering over her, still kissing her passionately. Piper lifts up her hips just a little to let Alex take off her pants and silk panties at the same time, and Piper helps Alex slip hers off, too. Alex moves her hand down Piper's body, grazing her breasts. This whole no bra thing really worked out well for both of them, they're thinking. Her hand slips further down, and comes in contact with exactly where Piper wants it.

She moans out, sending a tingle through Alex's body. Nothing is better than making Piper feel good. Alex traces over her folds, and slips them in, making Piper gasp a little, but not too loud because Alex swallows any noise coming from her. Alex starts to kiss her way down Piper's body, making a trail of kisses down to where her hand is working its magic.

Piper is gripping the sheets, and the edge of the headboard as little waves of pleasure are washing over her. Her breathe speeds up and she can feel herself building.

Alex's tongue begins working its magic and pleasuring Piper to no end. It is only a few moments before Alex feels Piper's hands shooting down and tangling in her dark locks. It's painful, but a good kind…a kind she doesn't want to end.

Moaning and gasps come from the blonde, and Alex knows she is close. With a few more thrusts and curls, Piper comes undone with a powerful orgasm sending currents through her like no other. She rocks and bows until Alex helps her come down from her climax, and then begins kissing her way back up to Piper's lips.

"There's more where that came from when we get to Bora Bora." Alex whispers to Piper. Piper sighs, and kisses her deeply, and gazes into her eyes. "I love you," she says. "I love you, too" Alex says back. They wrap up in each other's limbs and fall asleep.

The next morning, Alex wakes up and makes coffee and breakfast. She has told Polly they're taking the day off to prepare for the trip, which really means they'll be snuggled up all day watching Netflix movies, and then panicking at midnight, scrambling to do the packing they were supposed to do all day. Friday comes around, and Alex wakes Piper up.

"Baby, we have to go. Flight leaves in 3 hours. We have to go. Bora Bora is today!" She whispers cheerfully.

Piper slowly opens her beautiful blue eyes, and smiles, pulling Alex in for a kiss. She can't wait to have her wife to herself for the next two weeks in a tropical paradise.

They leave for the airport, all 8 bags in tow, because Piper is indecisive, and can't figure out exactly what she needs, so she basically brings it all. They check in, board their flight, and take off on the long flight to paradise.

Several hours later, they land, and Piper says, "We're here. Bora, Bora, Bora." She winks at Alex because she knows she'll get the joke. She kisses her, and they get up rom their seats…ready to start their vacation.


	2. Little Black Bikini

Alex and Piper have their luggage loaded onto a water taxi and step aboard to begin the ride over to where they are staying. Alex booked the huts on water, which are houses that are built on stilts that stick out of the crystal blue water.

"It is incredible here." Piper says, grabbing Alex's arm and leaning into her, kissing her neck.

Alex grabs her thigh and squeezes is gently, trailing her thumb from side to side, and plants a kiss on the top of her head.

They pull up to the house they'll be staying at and have their luggage unloaded. Alex slips the man a generous tip, and apologizes for her wife's excessive amounts of luggage. She walks to the back porch to find the blonde leaning on the railing, wind blowing her blonde hair gently. Gorgeous. She is simply gorgeous. Alex quickly notices that Piper has somehow managed to change in record time from her travel clothes into a peachy colored thin silk flowing robe, and underneath a clearly visible black bikini.

Alex laughs to herself a bit, knowing Piper remembered that she mentioned something about a black bikini two days earlier. She quietly walks up behind Piper and grabs her waist, pressing her front into Piper's back, and then wrapping her arms around, to be locked in with Piper's as soon as she feels her behind her.

"Thank you for this. All of this." Piper says

"You don't have to thank me. You deserve this. We deserve this. We haven't done anything for ourselves-haven't had a minute to ourselves- and haven't relaxed in years." She says, and then starts kissing Piper's neck, and down her shoulder.

Piper turns around and gives Alex a slow and soft kiss, and then lays her head on her chest and sighs. It can't get any better than this.

Piper suddenly gets an idea, and looks around, noticing that how the house is set on the water, it is the furthest back, and out of view of the neighbors. She gives a small smile, and Alex knows she is up to something.

Piper gently pushes Alex back a little and slowly, lets the silk robe fall from her shoulders. Alex is wide eyed. She knows her wife is gorgeous, but it is just something about that black bikini that sends her over the edge every single time. Just when Alex doesn't think it can get any better, Piper moves her hand up to the straps of her top and slides them off, and then reaches around the back and pulls the string.

"Oops." She playfully says as the black top falls onto the wooden deck.

"Pick your jaw up off the floor, babe." She says to Alex

Alex snaps back, and then Piper moves her hands down to the two thin strings on each sides of her hips, and pulls them, which sends her bottoms falling straight down to the deck, alongside her top. She is there, totally naked, and Alex waists no time in doing the same. Not as sexy of a show, but it still leaves Piper speechless. They both climb up onto the railing, lock hands, and jump, crashing into the warm tropical water.

Piper spins into Alex, wrapping her arms around her neck and kissing her roughly.

This whole treading water thing isn't the easiest to do when you're doing what they're doing, so they quickly swim over to the dock, and run up the stairs, Piper leading the way. The run to the master bathroom and turn on the shower. They get in and hold each other close.

Piper pushes Alex gently up against the wall of the shower. She begins kissing her slowly, and then speeds up. She starts to make her way down. Alex isn't usually one to not be in control, but this is one time she is totally okay with it.

Piper is leaving open mouth kisses down her chest, on her breasts, and then down her stomach. She is kneeling on the floor of the shower, and looks up and gives her wife a playful smile. Alex tenses up because she knows what's coming next. Piper strokes the back on Alex's right leg and gently lifts it over her shoulder, leaving Alex totally open in front of her. Alex can't help but let out a small moan as she feels the mixture of the warm shower air and Piper's hot breath. She inhales sharply which Piper's tongue comes in contact with her, licking straight up and then diving in. She braces herself on the shower wall with one hand and then other one tangles in Piper's hair. Her head is thrown back, and Piper laughs slightly at how Alex is already coming undone. Piper slips two fingers in, curling and thrusting, and she knows it won't be long, judging from the noises coming from her wife. She increases her speed and is working wonders with her tongue when Alex let's out a moan that vibrates off the glass shower doors. Piper laughs again at how loud she is being. A few more curls and swipes of her tongue, and Alex comes undone, sending her body into a shaking, panting, mess. Piper unhooks her leg, and makes her way back up so she is face to face with Alex.

"Damn, this is going to be a good vacation." Is all Alex says before kissing her wife strongly. They finish showering, and after traveling all day, they're tired. They go into the bedroom and seem the large four poster canopy bed with light blue and green sheets. Alex gets in first and pats the space in front of her.

"Come be my little spoon." She says with a little smile, bringing back memories of spending times like this in Litchfield.

This is so much better.

Piper scoots in, and Alex wraps her arms around her, planting kisses on her neck and nuzzling her.

"I love you so much Piper. I am so glad we are here." She gets out in a tired voice.

"I love you too." Piper says, bringing Alex's knuckles up to her mouth to kiss them gently.

They both drift off to sleep. They have a full two weeks ahead of them…with just them. Perfect….


	3. A Day for Us

Alex wakes up before Piper, it is usually always like this, so it doesn't wake Piper up at all who is cocooned in the thin linen sheets on the bed. It's Wednesday, June 4, 2019. 2 years since Piper and Alex were married in front of their friends, and a few of their family members. Alex smiles thinking about that day—seeing Piper walk down the aisle in that white dress. Her eyes filed with tears just seeing her, and now thinking back, it is happening again. That was the best day of her life. Their lives.

She snaps back to the present, and heads to the little kitchen to make some breakfast for them. She has a whole day planned out for them. She makes two omelets, cuts up some fresh fruit, and pours two glasses of orange juice and puts it on a tray and heads back to the bedroom.

She walks in and sees her beautifully tanned wife still asleep in the bed. Alex crawls up, and gently places soft kisses up her arm and then to her collarbone, and then her neck up to her ear.

"Mmmm" Piper hums out. "Good morning, baby." She says

"Happy Anniversary" Alex whispers back lovingly

Piper opens her beautiful blue eyes and smiles at the sight of the tray of breakfast laying on the bed. She sits up and puts her hand on the side of Alex's face and gives her a gentle kiss.

"It looks amazing, baby! Thank you!" she says

"You're welcome, love." Alex smiles back. "Now let's eat because we have a whole day planned."

They eat their breakfast and get dressed in bathing suits and cover ups, and of course, Piper has to figure out which strappy sandals go best with her outfit, which takes a solid 20 minutes of contemplating. They finally get onto the little boat that is taking them to a small island that Alex has rented part of the beach for a little surprise later tonight. Piper had wanted to do some shopping, so they first hit a small walking mall type place, and visit all the little shops and vendors that Piper sees. They must have spent 3 hours doing that. Alex was eager to do anything but that, but since it is their anniversary, she happily tags along, smiling and watching her wife. Nothing makes her happier than seeing Piper happy, so this whole shopping excursion is worth it in her book. Once Piper has had her fill of shopping, they find a little café and order a couple of drinks and a light lunch. They share a little bit of desert, fresh fruit and whipped cream. It was amazing.

Alex and Piper walk hand and hand back down to the dock area and reboard the little boat. They sit together, Piper tangling her limbs with Alex's and kissing her shoulder, thanking her for today. It is about 3 in the afternoon, and before they head to the beach, Alex plans on having them do a little bit of snorkeling. They get their gear, and the guide anchors the boat and lets them off. They swim hand and hand, looking at all the colorful fish that are swimming just feet beneath them. One catches Piper's eye. It reminds her of the one that she has tattooed on the back of her neck and she laughs to herself a little. After an hour of swimming around and seeing the beauty that is Bora Bora, they get back on the boat. Piper thinks that they are going back to the house, but when the driver turns away from the huts, Piper is a little confused. She doesn't think too much of it though as Alex grabs her thigh and pulls her in close and kisses her neck softly.

In 10 minutes, they pull up to a sandy beach and Alex hops off and helps Piper down. Piper notices Alex has two bags in her hands. She hands one to Piper and says, "Go change, and he'll escort you to where I am." She kisses her and turns away.

Piper follows the man to a little hut and changes into a flowing dress that Alex has picked out for her. It is beautiful, and matches those shoes she had spent time picking out earlier. She knew it was worth 20 minutes of deciding. The man escorts her down the beach and around a small bend she can see an open hut. It has curtains draping from four posters. Candles are all around the hut and soft music is playing. Alex is standing there next to the hut. She's beautiful. A loose fitting black dress that is totally Alex, and is just beautiful. She makes her way to Alex, and she has soft tears coming down her cheeks. Alex quickly wipes them away, and kisses her.

"Happy Anniversary, baby" Alex says, kissing her again.

"Alex, this is beautiful. You look amazing. I love you." Piper says back

Alex leads her to the candle lit table and helps her to her seat.

They sit down and hold hands across the table.

"How'd you do all of this?" Piper asks.

"I know some people." Alex says back slyly. "Anything for you, Pipes."

Their food is brought out. Some sort of fish and rice dish that is just incredible, and elicits a moan from Piper. Alex giggles a little. They talk about everything under that canopy, and eventually it is dark. Alex stands up, and helps Piper out of her chair, and they head back to the boat.

In a couple of minutes, they are back at their hut, and they get up to the dock. Alex grabs Piper and lifts her bride style and carries her through the doorway. It's the Anniversary, and if she hasn't already showed her how much she loves her, she is going to make sure she really knows tonight.

They make love into the early hours of the morning. It isn't just sex for them. It is love. It is nothing they can explain. It isn't just physical, it is mental and emotional.

"Happy Anniversary, baby. I hope you had a good day. I love you so much, and I want to show you every day, for the rest of our lives." Alex says.

Piper smiles and pulls in closer to her wife, kissing her passionately.

"You're the best thing that's ever happened to me. I love you, Al. Happy Anniversary." Piper says back. She puts her head into her wife's chest and they drift off to sleep.

Their anniversary was perfect.

**Author's Note:**

**Hey guys, so first off, thank you for actually reading this story. I've been reading fanfics for a while, and decided I'd give it a try. I really hope that you guys like it, since I'm having a good time writing it. Please review and send me questions and suggestions! They're totally welcome. **

**I hope to be able to update regularly, and I already have the next couple of chapter done, so I know they next few will be up very soon, and maybe even double update. Anyways, thanks again for reading!**


	4. Lets Do It

They're vacation has been amazing. They still have a couple days left, and honestly neither one of them is ready to leave, but they know they have to get back to the business and back to their lives.

Piper's phone goes off, and she checks it.

"Aw, baby, come and look at this!" She says, almost in a squeal and beckons Alex over to join her on the bed. Alex walks over, and Piper hands her the phone. On the screen is a picture of Finn, Polly's son and Piper's godson. He's five, and Piper is in love with him. In the picture, he is dressed up in his little Superman swimming trunks and flexing for the camera. Polly must be taking him t the pool.

"Isn't he the cutest?!" Piper asks, but it's not really a question for Piper. According to her, he is the cutest.

"Yeah, babe, he's cute. Sticky, gross, and a little loud, but cute." Alex throws her a wink and a smile.

Alex isn't really much of a kid person. She liked Finn though. The way he crawled all over her like a human jungle gym, and how when he stayed the night, he would try and sneak into the bed in between her and Piper. He was a cute kid.

Alex knows how much Piper loves that kid, and how happy she is when they're together. It's the cutest thing in the world to Alex. She loves when Piper is happy, so any time she wants Finn to come over, Alex immediately says yes.

"Do you ever think about it?" Piper ask

"About what?" Alex asks back

"About kids."

"Um, no, not really." Alex says, but she thinks to herself, "Shit. That's a lie, I've thought about it more than once."

Alex clears he throat "Why?"

"Well, because I was thinking, I love you so much, and I love what we have. I mean look where we are, and our life together. It's amazing. But, sometimes I think about us…with a baby." She says with a little smile on her face as he eyes look down at her hands that are nervously picking at each other.

"Well, I mean, yeah, kids are great and all, but do we really want that? The crying, the mess, the time, and not to mention the 9 months that one of us would have to put into making a kid." She slightly shudders at the thought. It never appealed to her.

"Yeah, you're right. It probably isn't a good idea." Piper says, and you can see her mood go down a little. Alex notices it immediately, and swoops in to cheer her up.

"But hey, when we get back, lets have Finn over for the weekend." She wraps her arms around Piper and gives her a kiss. Piper smiles.

"That sounds like a good idea" she says back.

They spend their day swimming and laying out on the deck of the hut. Alex makes lunch and Piper makes margaritas…her favorite. She loves tequila.

Later in the evening, Alex goes to the bedroom, finds her iPod, and plugs it into the speakers she packed for the trip.

Piper is on the deck right outside of the bedroom and hears "Move and Groove Together" start playing. She can't help but sway to the music. Alex meets her out on the deck, and they dance to the song. The sun is going down, and the only things lighting the deck are some strung up lights and candles that Piper had put out.

"Let's do it." Alex says whispering right into Piper's ear.

"Alex, is that all you really think about?" Piper laughs a little.

Alex laughs and clears her throat, "No, that's not what I mean. I mean let's do it. Let's have a baby." She says.

"What?!" Piper squeals back, this time pushing back from Alex to get a good look at her face.

"I lied earlier. I have been thinking about it. A lot actually. I see how much you love Finn, and how much you love me, and I know much you could love a baby. Our baby." Alex says, tears welling up in her eyes a little.

Piper is crying. "Are you sure? I don't want to do this is you're not sure." Piper says

"I'm sure. As sure as I was that I wanted to marry you. I am sure I want to have a baby with you. Lets do it, babe." Alex says followed by a kiss

Piper jumps up, wrapping her legs around Alex's waist, and tangling her hands in her hair, pulling her in for a passionate kiss. They're both crying.

"I love you so much Al. Thank you." Piper says.

"I love you too." Piper says

"Oh my god, we are going to have a baby. I can't believe it." Piper says to herself.

They keep on dancing close together. This is it. This going to happen.


	5. Getting Started

It's the morning that they have to leave. Unusually, Piper is up before Alex. As much as she loves it here in Bora Bora, she can't wait to get home. Alex and her had decided that once they got home, they were going to start the process of trying to having a baby. Piper can't wait. She hasn't stopped thinking about it since the moment Alex agreed on the back porch a few nights ago.

Piper goes to take a shower. She turns on the water and gets in. She loves getting clean. Since her time in Litchfield, she doesn't take hot water or real soaps for granted. This is her time. All the stress of the day washes down the drain, and she feels better after she's done. Piper is zoned out, but is quickly pulled back in when the glass door opens and Alex is standing there smiling at her.

"Hey baby." Piper says, extending her hand out to Alex to bring her in.

Alex gets in and stands behind Piper, holding onto her and resting her head on her shoulder. It's not always about sex with them. Sometimes it's just touch, and being close to one another. That's the best part. Just standing there holding each other. Alex releases her grip and gets the shower gel and begins to wash up.

They finish their shower, and head out to do their packing and get a quick bite to eat before heading to the airport.

They make it to the airport, board their flight and after the long journey back, they land in New York. Alex gets a cab and they're back at their apartment in an hour.

"Oh my God, I'm so tired!" Piper says as she collapses onto the couch.

Alex sits on the arm of the couch and flops back, with her head landing in Piper's lap, and legs dangling over the arm. "Me too."

Piper runs her fingers through Alex's hair, and lays her head back on the couch.

Just before Piper drifts off to sleep, Alex sits up and turns and grabs her hand to lead her to bed. They make their way to the bedroom and get undressed and slip into the bed. They both quickly drift off to sleep, snuggled up together.

Piper wakes up first, two morning in a row…this is unheard of. She is immediately on a mission.

She goes to the computer in the office and looks up the name of the sperm bank she knew that several of their friends had used. She downloads the registry, and starts going through them. After an hour of going through the profiles, she finally settles on one that sounds perfect to her: Tall, dark hair, green eyes, smart, athletic, and has a good sense of humor." Sounds like the perfect guy. She prints out the page and leaves it on the coffee table.

She goes to make a pot of coffee, grabs a bowl of cereal, and plops down on the couch to watch all of her recordings that she had missed when they were on vacation.

A few minutes later, Alex walks out. Sweat pants, plain black tshirt, and a messy bun. "God, she can pull off anything" Piper thinks to herself.

"Morning" Alex says with a quick kiss before walking into the kitchen to pour herself a cup of coffee. She walks back out and sits on the couch, her feet resting on Piper's lap.

"Did you sleep good?" Piper asks

"Yes! I missed our bed. The one in Bora Bora was nice, but I like our the best."

Alex is sipping her coffee when she notices a paper sitting on the coffee table. She picks it up, and notices that it's a profile.

"Tall, dark hair, green eyes, smart…jeez, did you make me an online dating profile or something?" she laughs and throws Piper a wink .

"No! That's the guy."

"What guy?"

"Our guy. Our sperm donor."

"What? I don't get a say or anything?"

"Well do you like him?"

"Sure, he sounds great."

"Well good, because I think he's the one." Piper says, beaming form ear to ear.

"Okay, we're doing this. This is the guy." Alex says, looking at the paper and then placing it back down on the top of the table. "So, are you going to make an appointment, or something?"

"Well yeah. You're still sure that you don't want to carry it, right?"

"Hell no I don't want to carry it. I'll be there the entire time, but I do not want to be the one who has to do all the work. My work will start once it's here."

Piper laughs, "Okay, that's fine. I want to do it."

Someone knocks on the door, and Alex gets up to answer it. She opens the door, and before she can even say a word, a flash of wild hair and profane language slams into her. Nicky.

"Vause! Thank God you're back!" Nicky yells, gripping Alex in a tight hug. "How the fuck are ya?"

Alex laughs, and tries to take in a little air as Nicky squeezes in her ribs, "I'm fine. Damn, let go, I need to breathe!"

"Hey, Nicky. Good to see you." Piper says waving and smiling at the friend from Litchfield.

They had remained close with Nicky since their release. She's one of their closest friends.

"Chapman!" Nicky shuffles over and gives her a hug.

Nicky makes herself right at home and flops down onto the couch, and put her feet on the table.

"Coffee?" Alex asks

"Nah, I'm good." Nicky says.

Before anyone has a chance to say anything else, Nicky spot the paper on the coffee table and picks it up. She scans over it for a moment. Her eyes go wide, and her face shocked.

"Holy shit, you guys aren't?!" She yells

Piper is wide eyed, mouth open and Alex almost overflows the coffee mug. Piper's eyes shoot to Alex for what to do, and Alex does the same to her.

Piper clears her throat. "Uh yeah, we are. We haven't tried yet, but we are going to."

"Vause is going to be a parent. Damn, well, good for you guys. I'm happy for ya." Nicky says, leaning to Piper for a hug and then running over to Alex for one too. "Wow, this is going to be so bitchin."

Piper looks at Alex and can't help but smile. Alex laughs, at least Nicky approves. This is actually going to happen.


	6. Waiting Game

Piper and Alex go in for their appointment to start the IVF treatments. Piper has already done all of the lab work and health check ups, and hormone injections. Finally they are actually getting somewhere.

Piper isn't nervous, but Alex is totally freaked out.

The doctor comes in and Alex sits up by Piper's head. They talk to a few minutes and the doctor starts the procedure.

Alex sees Piper's face tense up a bit. "Are you okay?" she asks, pushing the hair back away from Piper's face.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little uncomfortable."

"Are you sure? Because I'll tell him to stop."

Piper laughs a little, "Al, it's okay. It's normal. It'll be done in a minute."

"All done." The doctor says. He explains the risks, and the fact that it usually doesn't work the first time.

Alex dotes on Piper, waiting on her hand and foot, not letting her do anything for two weeks.

Piper was so anxious to take a test, but she knew that it was guaranteed.

She could wait anymore, so she goes in and takes a test while Alex runs out to get something for dinner.

Five minutes go by and she check the stick. Nothing. Her heart sinks. She knew it probably wouldn't happen the first time, but she can't stop crying.

Alex gets back 15 minutes later.

"Piper, I got Pizza. Piper?" she doesn't see her wife anywhere. She goes to the bedroom and finds Piper laying on the bed, crying.

"Pipes, what's wrong."

"It didn't work." She says, pointing to the pregnancy test sitting on the night stand.

"Oh Piper. It is okay. We can try again." She says, reaching down and picking her up and cradling her. She feels her own tears start to fall down her cheeks.

"I just though that we would get it this time."

"Yeah, I know. Me too. But we will try again, and we will have a baby. This was our first try. It'll be okay." She says, rocking Piper and holding her close.

Piper nods. She knows this isn't the end of the world. They can try again. It was still upsetting.

It's October. 4 months have gone by. They've been through the hell of failed attempts for the passed couple of months, every time, Piper becoming more and more discouraged, and Alex feeling sick at the fact that there is nothing she can do to help, except be there for Piper and hold her hand through it all.

Alex is in the kitchen making dinner, and Piper slips off to the bathroom to take another test. Alex is busy cooking, so she doesn't notice that Piper has been gone for 5 minutes, when she is usually talking the dark haired girl's ear off about the most random of topics.

Eventually Alex notices that she hasn't been talked to death about anything, which is unusual. She turns the burner down on the stove, and walks to the back of the house. "Pipes?" no answer. "Piper?" she calls again.

Alex walks into the bedroom and sees the bathroom light is on, she walk in and sees Piper sitting on the floor of the bathroom, pregnancy test in hand, crying. "Oh God, Pipes. I'm sorry. It'll be o-"

"I'm pregnant." Piper says to her, smiling wide, tears falling down her face.

"Oh my God. Oh my God, Piper!" Alex screams, crying. She picks Piper up in a big hug. "Are you sure?!"

"Yes, here" she passes over the test stick. Two clearly pink lines are visible. "It's real. I had a feeling that it worked this time and it did. It worked. We are having a baby!" she chokes out before the crying takes over again.

Alex is staring at the test strip. She has never been so happy in her life, but also so scared. This is real now. This is happening. They are going to have a baby.

"I just, this is amazing. I don't know what else to say." Alex says, wrapping Piper up in another hug.

They stand there holding each other for what seems like forever. Crying and laughing fills the room.

"I'm going to call the doctor and get an appointment for this week. I want to make sure everything is okay. Oh my God, I can't breathe. This is the craziest thing that's ever happened." Piper says

Alex is sitting on the bed just staring at this test strip. Piper goes and grabs the stick from her hand and sets it on the night stand. She crawls up onto the bed and straddles Alex, placing both her hands on either side of her face, and pulls her in for a kiss.

"We did it, baby." Piper says, resting her forehead on Alex's forehead.

"Yeah we did." Alex says with a smile, and wraps Piper in a hug, and they fall back on the bed together.

"I love you" Alex says looking over at Piper who is laying next to her now. She leans up a little bit, lifts the hem of Piper's shirt, exposing her stomach, "And I love you too." She says, placing a kiss on Piper's stomach.

Alex gets up, and goes to finish the dinner that she had started making. She had totally forgotten about it.

Piper stays laying on the bed, placing her palms on her stomach. She has never felt anything like this. She is so overcome with joy and happiness and the tears flow. She made it. They did it. They were going to have a baby, and Piper couldn't wait.


	7. Aunt Nicky

Piper was going crazy. She wasn't able to get an appointment for two weeks. Alex was even more protective of her than she was before, if that was possible. The morning sickness wasn't too bad, but it wasn't fun, either. She was basically living off of ginger ale and boiled chicken and rice. Alex was concerned that she wasn't eating enough, but Piper assured her that it was okay, and that both her and the baby were okay.

They make it to the first appointment extra early because Alex was worried about missing it. They have to fill out all the forms and look over all the information. Alex is picking up every brochure she sees in the office. She is so nervous that she is shaking.

"Al, relax, you can ask the doctor all the questions you want when we see him."

"Yeah, I know, I'm just, freaking out a little. This is a lot to take in. Like, all of it."

"It'll be okay." Piper smiles, taking Alex's hand in her own and running her thumb over the top of hers. She gives her a kiss.

A nurse comes out, "Chapman" she asks.

"That's us" Piper says, Alex and her get up, and the nurse leads them into an exam room and gives Piper a gown to change into.

Alex can't help but feel tempted as Piper sits on the table in only a gown. She reaches over and puts her hand on her thigh, and starts slipping it further up her legs until she is just a couple of inches from Piper's center.

"Alex stop, the doctor is going to be here any-" she stops and inhales sharply as Alex's hand cups her.

"You told me to relax..." Alex says smoothly, smiling.

The knock on the door startles them both and Alex quickly removes her hand and puts them in her lap.

The Doctor walks in and Piper shoots Alex a glare and whispers "You almost got busted."

"We'll finish this later." Alex says, winking at Piper.

The doctor introduces himself and explains that Piper's blood work looks great, and that there looks to be no issues there. They were just going to do an ultrasound to make sure everything looked good, physically.

He puts the jelly on Piper stomach, turns on the screen, and rolls the probe over Piper's stomach.

At first, nothing, and then the doctor stops over what looks like a blob, and hits a button on the computer, freezing the screen.

"What's that?" Alex asks, motioning to the screen.

The doctor points to the blob on the screen, "That's your baby, and.." he flips a switch on the computer- a noise fills the room. "And that is the heartbeat."

"Whomp, whomp, whomp, whomp." fills the room.

"Oh my God" Piper says in total awe of what she is seeing and hearing. She squeezes Alex's hand. "That's our baby." She looks up at Alex who is standing there, a total emotional wreck.

"Oh God, I'm such a mess. When did I become the one that went soft?" She says, looking up and blinking back tears, trying to wipe them away. She looks down, smiles at Piper, and gives her a kiss.

The doctor prints out a strip of pictures, and cuts them up, and hands them to Alex. Alex immediately kisses them, and then puts one in her wallet.

"Go ahead, ask all the questions that you had on the way here." Piper says to Alex

Alex pulls out a list and begins asking them, wanting to know every single thing.

The drive home is almost a trance like thing. Piper is staring at the picture, and Alex is driving.

"How amazing was that?" Alex finally asks

"Literally the most amazing thing in the world. I used to listen to Polly talk about it, and I thought, it's a blob, what is so exciting about seeing a blob on a computer screen? I was so wrong. It is the most exciting and amazing thing I've ever experienced."

"It's so real now. Like we saw him and it made it real."

"Him?" Piper asks, shooting Alex a smile. "How do you know it's a boy?"

"Well, I guess I just assumed. I don't know. Can you imagine another mini you running around the house? Two of you to drive me crazy and bossing me around all the time." Alex says laughing

"I don't know, I guess I didn't really think about it too much. I don't really have a preference, I just want it to be healthy."

"Of course, but a boy would be interesting. Like, I have no experience in that department, whatsoever." She says with a little bit of a nervous laugh

Piper laughs, "Well if it is a boy, you will get plenty of experience in that department."

They pull into their parking garage and walk to their apartment. Nicky is sitting on the front steps.

"Where the fuck have you two been, I've been sitting here forever! Windy as hell, blowing my hair everywhere." She says in a slightly irritated tone.

"Well your hair looks like that all the time if that makes you feel any better." Alex says, flashing the classic Vause smile.

"Oh fuck off, Vause."

They all walk in. Nicky really knows how to make herself at home, and plops herself right down on the couch and turns on the TV.

Piper and Alex are in the kitchen.

"Should we tell her?" Piper asks quietly

"I don't know how."

"Well we have a DVD of the ultrasound and the sounds plays through too. We could play it for her."

"I'll do it." Alex says with a smile, giving Piper a quick kiss.

"Hey Nicky. I picked up this movie, and I want to watch it. It was just released. I think you'll like it." Alex says, putting it in the DVD player and pressing play.

"This better be good. Miss. Congeniality was about to come on, and you know how much I love Sandra Bullock." Nicky says back sarcastically, winking at Alex.

Suddenly, the gray color fills the screen, blob front and center, and the heartbeat plays thru the speakers.

Alex and Piper are standing next to each other, watching Nicky, as her face lights up and flashes back at them.

"NO WAY! Holy shit, is that yours, Chapman?!"

"Yep, just got my first checkup this morning. You're the first to know."

Nicky jumps up and runs over to them giving them big hugs and a colorful congratulations.

"I'm going to be Aunt Nicky!" She yells

"Oh God" both Piper and Alex say in unison.


	8. Everybody Knows

Piper's first trimester goes by relatively smoothly considering some of the morning sickness and hormonal stories she has heard from others. Checkups are going well, and everything it exactly where it should be.

"Oh my God, I can't fit in anything!" Piper yells at Alex from the closet

"You look beautiful babe."

"I look like a whale."

"No, you look like your carrying my child." Alex says as she walks into the closet to see exactly what Piper is talking about

There is definitely a bump noticeable. Piper is very thin to begin with, so they figured it would be pretty obvious pretty soon. By 16 weeks, it is definitely clear that something is going on.

"We have to tell people…people other than Nicky and Polly."

"Yeah, I know. Can't we just like post it on Facebook or something like everybody else does?" Alex asks, whining a little bit, knowing Piper is going to want to throw some reveal party or something.

"Let's do a party or something!" Piper says enthusiastically

"Knew it…"

"What?"

"Nothing. A party sounds good. When?"

"Well soon, like next week soon."

"Okay, that's doable. I'll send out an invite. We'll do it here, next Saturday." Alex says. "Wait, how are we going to tell everyone?" she asks

"I'll figure that out" Piper says, and they start planning the party

A week passes, and Piper and Alex have planned this entire party and reveal. About 25 people are coming, including Piper's brother, Cal, and his wife, Neri, Polly and Finn, Nicky, and the rest are friends from Prison.

Piper makes sure to wear a loose fitting dress so that her bump isn't noticeable. She wants it to be a total surprise.

"College!" Taystee yells as she makes her way into the apartment, followed by Poussey and Black Cindy.

"Hey!" Piper walks over and gives them all hugs.

They've managed to keep in touch with several people that they were in prison with.

Nicky and Lorna show up next.

"Chapman! Vause!" Nicky screams as she is walking in. This place is home, and she has no problems about acting like it is her own.

"Jesus, Nicky, do you ever make a quiet entrance?" Alex asks, pushing her a little.

"Hell no."

"Hey, Lorna." Alex says, giving her a hug.

"Does she know?" Alex asks

"Yeah, I couldn't keep it a secret from her."

"That's fine, just don't tell anyone else. We are going to tell everyone in a little bit. I'm serious Nicky, don't fuck it up. Piper will cry, and I will force you to deal with her." She says, trying to be serious and funny at the same time.

"Okay, okay, Jesus. I won't fuck it up." Nicky says putting her hands up. She doesn't deal with crying well.

Everyone who is supposed to be there shows up, and Piper goes over to Alex to let her know that they need to go ahead and make the announcement.

"Alright everyone, listen up." Alex says "First off thanks for coming, hope you're having a good time and catching up and whatever."

Piper clears her throat. "Well, we asked you all to come because-"

Just then, Finn, runs up and hands Piper a picture he had been coloring for a little while. He doesn't care that he is interrupting the big announcement. Piper doesn't mind it at all, she loves this kid. He does no wrong. She doesn't a think twice about it, and immediately directs her attention towards Finn for a second.

"Oh thank you, Finn. What is it?"

"It's for the baby!"

Alex and Piper are a little caught off guard. They didn't know Finn even knew about the baby. Polly must've told him.

"Sorry, it slipped." Polly says, giving an apologetic smile. Polly goes to get Finn from the front of the room.

Alex laughs a little and grabs Piper around the waist, pulling her to her side. "Well, I guess Finn let the cat out of the bag."

The guests in the room start whispering, and a few are smiling widely.

"We're having a baby!" Piper says, confirming what everyone in the room was pretty sure of.

"Congratulations!" several people say. People start coming up for hugs, and asking questions.

"Told you I wouldn't fuck it up." Nicky says smartly, nudging Alex's ribs, and then giving them both a hug.

Everyone stays around for a while longer, eating, drinking, and having a good time. By midnight, everybody is gone, and Alex starts cleaning up.

"Babe, just leave it, we can deal with it tomorrow." Piper tugs at Alex's arm, using the voice that she knows will make Alex do what she wants.

"Yeah, okay, we'll clean up in the morning."

"Can you unzip me?"

"Yeah, come here." Piper turns around so that Alex can unzip her dress that she'd been wearing all night.

Alex unzips it, and moves the straps off Piper's shoulders, placing soft kisses up to her neck, and then nipping gently at her earlobe. She pushes the dress totally off her shoulders, and lets it fall to the ground.

Piper lets out a small moan, and turns around so that her arms are hooked around Alex's neck, and she kisses her deeply. She starts unzipping Alex's dress. It was strapless, so it falls off as soon as it is loosened.

Alex runs her hands down Piper's back, then cups her ass, and then raises her thighs. Piper instinctively jumps up a little to hang onto Alex. Alex carries her into the bedroom and lays her on the bed, careful not to put all of her weight on Piper.

Piper is running her hands through Alex's hair, and Alex is kissing her jawline, down her neck, in between her breasts, then each of her breasts, down her stomach. She stops. She makes sure she kisses Piper's stomach extra. She continues kiss down. Down her stomach, over her hip bones, and on the inside of her thighs.

Piper is gripping the sheets, moaning just at the thought of what her wife is about to do to her. She feels her wetness start to spread, and she can barely wait.

Alex spreads her legs, and hooks them over her shoulders. She grabs onto one side of Piper's hips, to steady her. She doesn't want her to move at all, she wants to do all the work.

She slides her tongue up an down Piper's center, gathering up all the wetness that has formed there. She is kissing and sucking, sending Piper into a panting mess, throwing her head back onto the bed, moaning Alex's name. Alex slides two fingers in, and Piper screams. She knows the neighbors are hating them right now, but she doesn't care. Alex continues her magic.

"I'm gonna—" Piper starts to contract and bow uncontrollably.

"I've got you. Let go." Alex says

Piper lets go, shaking, bowing, and moaning so loud anyone in Manhattan could hear.

Alex licks her clean, and makes her way back up to Piper.

Still panting and sweating, Piper says "That was amazing." She leans in and kisses Alex, tasting herself on her lips. She rolls onto her side, her back in touching Alex's front. Alex brings her hands down around Piper's stomach and says "I love you."

"Woah" Piper says

"What?"

"It's just…I felt it."

"Felt what?"

"The baby!" Piper says excitedly

"Nuh uh, no way!"

"Yeah, like right after you put your hands on my stomach."

"Oh my God, that's amazing. What did it feel like?"

"It kind of tickled."

"Wait, did you feel that?!" Piper asks

"No. Where?"

Piper rolls onto her back and moves Alex's hand to where she felt it, and then presses it down a little bit. "Give it a minute…"

A little bit goes by, maybe 30 seconds or so.

"There it is!" Piper yells

"I felt it, too! Oh my God, that's our baby!" Alex says, tears start to well up in her eyes. She kisses Piper and then Piper's growing belly.

"I cant wait to see you." Alex says, kissing and drawing small circles over Piper's stomach.

She lays her head on her stomach, and puts on hand over top of it. They just lay there in silence until the both drift off to sleep.

**First off, thank you so much for reading this, and giving it a chance. I can't thank you all enough. I am having a lot of fun writing this story, and I hope that you all enjoy it. I decided to go ahead and do a double update tonight since I got some really good feedback today from some of the readers, and I just couldn't wait. I have the next several chapters done, so you should be getting daily updates for a while. Please continue to leave reviews and give me feedback, or just let me know what you're thinking about this story, and I'll try my best to incorporate them, and answer any questions you might have. Just send me a message or review, and I'll get back to you. Thank you again for reading. You're the best! :)**


	9. Surprise

"So we're going to go with green? Definitely green?" Alex asks, just to make sure.

"Yes, because it's neutral. I'm not finding out the sex until he or she gets here, so we'll go with green." Piper says back, looking through the paint shades that Alex picked up

"Okay, okay, I get it. Makes sense. What about a theme?"

"Uh, what about a jungle or safari type thing. Animals and trees and cute things." Piper says.

"I like it. So, dark furniture? Wait, what all do we need? A crib, a changing table, a chair, a dresser, and-"

"Alex, we have time, we don't have to get it all today."

"Piper, you're 6 months pregnant, we are running out of time. I'd like to just go ahead and get it done. One less thing to worry about."

"Yeah, well, I just don't want you stressing out about it."

"I won't, I promise. I just want to make sure everything is done, and that it's perfect."

"It will be…" Piper says, pulling Alex towards her to give her a kiss.

Piper gets up to make a bowl of cereal.

As she is pouring the bowl, she says, "Lucas."

"What?"

"Lucas. If it is a boy, what about Lucas for a name?"

"Lucas" Alex says to herself. "I like it."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, not complicated. Short and sweet. I like it a lot." She smiles at Piper. "What about for a girl?"

"Well I don't have a first name, but I've had a middle name I've been thinking of for a while."

"Oh yeah, what is it?"

"Diane." Piper says

"Pipes, you don-"

"I want to. I think your mother deserves to be in this kids life some way, and if it means her name is apart of her, then, yes, I am sure that is what I want the middle name to be if it is a girl."

"I love you, Piper." Alex says as she makes her way over to the blonde and wraps her in a big hug, giving her a kiss. Alex can feel the baby kick as she squeezes Piper tightly. "Woah, I think the baby agrees."

She places a kiss on Piper's stomach, which is clearly visible now.

"Did you get the maternity leave all worked out?" Alex asks Piper

"Yep, I have 8 weeks and I talked to Polly and she said that you can get 2 weeks, and then work from home after that when you need to."

"Well that was nice of her."

"Yeah, so that's all taken care of. My due date is July 20, so I'm going to try and work until the 10th."

"Piper, if you don't feel up to working at that point, don't. That's 3 months away, and you'll be so tired by then."

"I know, that's what Polly said. I'll just play it by ear, if it works it works, if it doesn't, it doesn't."

"Alright, I just do want you working too hard."

"I won't. I promise." Piper says smiling at her wife

A week goes by and Piper comes home after being at the store all day with Polly. Alex had taken a sick day, and Piper didn't think much of it. She's been feeling kind of run down the passed couple of days. "Alex?" Piper calls out.

"I'm in the back room."

Piper walks back there and opens the door. Her jaw almost hits the floor. There are safari animals: monkeys, lions, giraffes, elephants, and tall trees all over the walls. A river is thrown into the mural and it is the most amazing thing Piper has ever seen.

"Oh my God, Al. You did this?"

"Yeah, do you like it?" She asks, kissing Piper

"I love it! This is incredible. I didn't know you could draw and stuff."

"Well I can, so I did. I'm glad you like it."

Piper can't believe how lucky she is. This woman is the greatest thing that has ever happened to her. She can't help but fall in love with her more and more every day.

"Go look in the office. There's something else."

Piper walks into the office and sees the most gorgeous furniture she has ever seen. It is dark wood, but not too dark. The crib is beautiful. She runs her hands across it. Alex did all of this for their baby and he or she isn't even here yet. Piper walks back into the nursery and pulls Alex into a passionate kiss.

"I guess you like it." Alex says, smiling into Piper's lips.

"I love it. Thank you." Piper says, resting her forehead on Alex's.

They move the furniture into the nursery and once it's all put together Alex sighs. "It's perfect."

"Yeah it is." Piper says, wrapping her arm around her waist and leans her head on her shoulder.

"Okay, so the nursery is done. The maternity leave is set. Um, what's another thing we have to do?"

"Baby shower!" Piper said.

"Oh yeah, that…"

"Oh come on, it'll be fun. Cake, games, presents. Let's do it next month. "Okay, so like what, May 18 or 19?"

"18th, it's a Saturday."

"Okay, so May 18th, and who all are we going to invite? The people we invited to the reveal party?"

"Yeah, that sounds good. It was a good time then. I can't think of anyone else to add to the list."

"Alright, well I can go ahead and send out invitations and we can just plan it. It shouldn't be hard to do."

"I'm so excited!" Piper says, smiling.


	10. Unexpected

May 18th finally rolls around and it's time for the baby shower. Piper and Alex have planned everything out, and it's going to be a lot of fun.

Piper is walking down the hall and drops her rings, which wouldn't usually be a problem, except for she has gotten to the point in her pregnancy the bending down to get something is no easy task.

"Alex!" she calls out

Alex comes down the hall to see Piper with a pouty face pointing at the rings laying on the floor.

"I can't reach them." She says, a little defeated.

"Oh my poor baby" Alex says sarcastically and gets the rings and slips them on Piper's fingers.

"I'm huge and I still have two months left." Piper says, plopping herself on the couch.

Alex sits down next to her, and tucks a blonde strand behind her ear, "You look beautiful, babe. I love your body. Gives me something to grab onto…" she says with a bit of a growl, and grabs Piper's thigh.

"Well we have guests coming so there were be no grabbing or anything for a while."

"Don't worry, I can wait until after they go. Remember the reveal party?" Alex winks at Piper, and Piper smiles and sighs

"Oh, that was such a good night."

"Well let's say tonight is round two…" she shoots Piper a wink.

People start arriving. Nicky, Lorna, Poussey, Taystee, Black Cindy, Polly, and Finn, and some others arrive. People bring in gifts and set them on the dining room table, and sign the book and everything.

"Holy hell, Chapman, any day now it looks like." Nicky says, eyes wide

Alex punches her arm, "Jesus Nick"

"Fuck! What? I didn't say she was fat or anything."

"You might as well have." Alex says, glaring.

"Alex it's fine, she's right. I'm huge." She half smiles

"Aw, Chapman, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that. You're growing my niece or nephew in there. Get as big as you want!" She places both of her hands on Piper's stomach and then walks over to Taystee and Poussey.

"Baby, you look beautiful. Nicky is an idiot, you know that. She doesn't know any better."

"It's fine, really, I'm okay." She says giving her a smile and a kiss.

Everyone gathers in the living room and Piper starts opening gifts. A pack of diapers, some blankets, and a cute little stuffed elephant from Nicky. Lorna of course got the cutest unisex clothes she could find. Taystee and Poussey went out and got a mix of toys and hats and some other things. Polly bought a large blanket for the rocking chair in the nursery and a scrapbook for them to fill with first pictures and stuff. Finn drew another picture and gave the baby his stuffed puppy so that "it would like him".

They all sat around laughing, looking at all the gifts, and having a good time. There was a knock at the door and Alex got up to answer it. She really wasn't sure who it could be. She turned the doorknob and she lets out a little gasp.

"Alex, who is it?" Piper asks a little concerned.

Alex backs up and in walks no other than the one and only, Red.

"Red!" Piper and Nicky say in unison. Nicky practically runs over everyone and slams into her, forcing her into a bear hug. Nicky is crying. "Ma, what are you doing here?!"

A thick Russian accent fills the room, "I heard there was a party. Wouldn't miss it." she says, hugging Nicky.

Piper walks over to her, and tears fill her eyes. Red and Piper had gotten close in prison, and formed a strong bond.

"Hey Blondie" Red says, extending her hands, reaching out for Piper. "You look beautiful."

They hug and Red looks down at her stomach, "I'm so happy for you. Both of you." She says, looking at Alex.

"How are you? When did you get out? Wait, how did you know that we would all be here?" Nicky asks all at the same time.

"Woah, okay. I'm good. Glad to be out. They let me out two weeks ago for good behavior. And I've been talking to Lorna. She set this all up." She motions to the small brunette sitting on the couch smiling at Nicky and winks at her.

"I can't believe you didn't tell me!"

"It was a surprise!" Lorna says as she gets up to hug Red.

"Well it was a damn good one." Nicky says, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"I brought you a little gift." Red says, and hands a bag to Piper.

Inside is a card, a hand knitted blanket, and then underneath all of that a picture of Red, Piper, Alex, Nicky, Lorna, and all the other family members in a picture frame that says 'Family' on it.

"Aw, I love it. Thank you, Red." Piper says giving her another hug.

Piper and her mother had never seen eye to eye, and after she agreed to marry Alex, she hadn't heard from her parents. It was sad, but Red was Piper's mother, and she felt that bond. They had written to each other since Piper's release and Piper had been to visit a few times. Red was as much a mother to Piper as she was to Nicky. She loved Red and Red loved her.

"So, I guess I am getting a grandchild." Red says, smiling.

Piper's eyes fill with tears, because until now, their baby didn't really have grandparents. Her parents weren't in the picture and Alex's mom had died years ago. Red may not be blood, but she was going to be a part of this baby's life. "Yes, you are." Piper says to Red, smiling and tears streaming down her face.

"I can't wait." Red says, embracing Piper.


	11. Almost There

Piper makes it to her last day of work on July 10.

"Only 11 more days of this." She mutters to herself

She can't stand more than a few minutes without having to get off of her feet. Poly notices just before lunch how uncomfortable she is and tells her to just leave at lunch. Normally Piper wouldn't do it, but she agrees. They say goodbye and Polly says she'll be over to check on her in a couple of days and to give her a call if anything…and she means anything, happens.

Piper heads home. Alex was working from home that day, monitoring shipments, scheduling arrivals and more shipments. She really didn't have to be in the office very much for PoPi, so a lot of times, she stayed home and working in the office.

Piper walks in with a grunt, throws down her bag and kicks off her shoes. Alex hears her come in and rushes out because it is unlike Piper to come home early.

"Piper? Piper, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Polly sent me home. I just can't get comfortable."

Alex takes Piper's hand and leads her to the bedroom where she helps her get undressed and lay back on the bed. Piper is wearing underwear and an oversized band t-shirt that Alex has.

"There ya go." Alex says, helping her lay down.

"There is nothing fun about any of this." Piper says, sounding irritated

"I know. Alex says, laying down next to Piper.

Piper grabs a pillow turns on her side and situates the pillow under her belly to rest on it. Alex rubs her back for her.

"Ahh, that feels so good." Piper says, closing her eyes. This is the most comfortable she has felt in a few weeks. She can't wait to be done with the pregnancy and just have their baby here.

Alex continues rubbing her back, and eventually Piper drifts off to sleep. Alex gets up, careful not to disturb her. She goes back into the office, sends her last couple of emails, and shuts down for the day.

She goes into the kitchen and makes herself some lunch. She figured Piper would be out for a while, so she doesn't make her anything. She's on the couch watching TV when there is a knock at the door.

Alex answer it, and no other than Nicky Nichols walks in.

"Hey, Vause. Didn't make me any lunch?" She says, loudly, because that is just Nicky's natural volume.

"Shhh! Piper is sleeping. Poor thing hasn't slept well in a couple of weeks." Alex says, shutting the door.

"Any day now, right?"

"It's supposed to be 11, but I don't know Nicky. I don't think it'll even be that long. I mean she is so uncomfortable and the baby is sitting really low, so I doubt it'll be 11 days. I think probably next week some time."

"Jesus, are you freaking out?"

"Hell yes I'm freaking out. I'm about to have a kid. My baby is having a baby. I'm so nervous for her. Like, I'm going to be there the whole time, it's just, I don't know how I'm going to be having to see her go through what she is going to have to go through. It's scary. But I'm also excited because we are having a baby. Does that make sense?"

"Yeah, it makes sense. I'd be too freaked out to touch her, afraid she might have that kid come flying out or something."

"Real nice, Nick. Very classy. Touching has definitely not been an issue for us. Literally, the hormones make her want to have sex all the time."

"Shit, well maybe I should have Lorna get pregnant." Nicky laughs

Alex laughs "How is that going?"

"Well, pretty good. She is finally used to being back in the real world. It took her almost a year. She had a hard time with it. But we're good now." Nicky smiles

Alex smiles. She's glad Nicky is happy. Her and Lorna are good for each other. "I'm glad."

"Yeah, so are you nervous about bringing the baby home?"

"Oh my God, yes. I wake up and I go and check that all the baby proofing is actually done, and that I didn't imagine putting it all together."

"Yeah, about those. You have got to teach me how to open the one on the toilet. I can't fucking open it, so I don't drink anything when I'm here."

"Oh Jesus Nicky, who are you?" Alex laughs.

"Well, damn, I can't figure them out. Too much for me."

"I'll show you some time." Alex says still laughing at her friend

They sit there flipping through channels and talking for a couple of hours.

Alex hears footsteps coming down the hall. They stop abruptly followed by, "Oh shit."

Alex and Nicky both jump up, Piper is standing in the middle of the hallway.

"Fuck Chapman, did you piss yourself?" Nicky points at the wetness on the floor.

"No I didn't piss myself." Piper says sarcastically, glaring at Nicky. "My water broke."

A shocked look takes over Alex's face. "Holy shit." Is all she manages to say.


	12. Here

"Okay, okay, we have to pack a bag, and put the car seat in the car, and we have to call Polly and Red and –"

"Alex, relax. First babies take a while. I don't want to leave just yet. When it gets to be too much, then we can go, but until then, I'm just going to first take a shower, and then I'm lay on the couch, and enjoy not being poked by needles and watched like a hawk by doctors. I'll go later, just not right now." Piper says as she's walking to the bathroom. "I really need a shower, that was kind of gross."

"Um, okay, Nicky, can you clean that up?" Alex says, pointing at the wet spot in the hallway. "I'm going to make sure Piper is okay to take a shower, and watch her."

"I did not sign up for this." Nicky says

"Nicky…"

"Okay okay, I'll clean it up." Nicky says

Alex goes into the bathroom. Piper is standing in the shower, washing her hair and letting the water run over her body.

"Have you had any contractions?"

"I think they've probably been happening a little bit all day. I felt kind of crampy and just not good. I just thought it was the whole being pregnant and uncomfortable thing."

"And you didn't say anything to me? Jesus Pipes."

"Al, it's okay. I feel okay. Yeah, they're uncomfortable, but I can take them...for now anyways."

"Okay, but as soon as you can't take them anymore we are driving to the hospital. No questions."

"Alright, fine. Bos-" Piper stops talking and she closes her eyes.

"Piper?"

Alex figures it must be a contraction.

Piper reaches her hand out for Alex, and Alex stands on the edge of the glass door and takes her hand, allowing Piper to hold onto it for as long and hard as she needs. This lasts for 30 seconds, and Piper says, "That one hurt a little more than the others."

"Great, alright, let's get you out and you can go and lay on the couch."

A couple hours of laying on the couch, walking around, and trying to distract herself from the pain goes on, and finally Piper decides that they need to go.

Alex had Nicky load the car earlier, and it was parked right out on the street. Nicky had gone home, but Alex texted her, letting her know they were going to the hospital. She texted Polly, too.

The hospital is right down the street, and if Piper wasn't in so much pain, they probably could've walked there.

Alex grabs Piper a wheelchair and wheels her up to the check in area.

"Uh, my wife, Piper Chapman, she's in labor."

"Okay, well let me get some information and we'll get you checked into a room." The woman behind the counter says

Piper makes a moaning sound, and Alex immediately turns her attention to her, squatting in front of her and taking her hands, having her focus. The pain eventually subsides. Alex turns back to the receptionist and says, "Listen, can we just get her into a room and then do the paperwork?"

"Uh, yeah, let me call someone to come and get you two."

"Great." Alex says, and then returns all of her attention back to Piper.

A nurse comes and leads them to a labor and delivery room where Piper changes into a gown. Alex is filling out paperwork when the doctor comes in. He checks Piper out. "6 centimeters. You came in at a good time. It probably will be a few more hours."

"Thank you." Alex says, and the doctor leaves the room.

"Are you sure you don't want an epidural? No shame in it. I would do it." Alex says, rubbing Piper's legs.

"No." Is all Piper manages to get out. She is overcome by another contraction.

Polly comes in a few hours later.

"Oh my God Piper! It's happening!" she says, tearing up seeing her best friend like this. She's so excited for them. She stays for a little while, and then the doctor comes back in and Polly gives Piper a kiss on the forehead and leaves.

"You're almost there. Almost at 9 centimeters. So it should maybe be another hour before we start pushing." He says, smiles, and walks out.

"WE start pushing." Piper says sarcastically. "I don't see him having to push anyone out of himself."

Alex can't help but laugh a little. She pushes Pipers sweaty hair back off of her forehead, and kisses her.

"I love you." Alex says

"I love you too, now get off of me."

Alex backs off and laughs. Piper is in pain, she gets it. She has a right to be snappy.

Maybe 30 minutes later, Piper is overcome with the feeling of pressure down there. Alex sticks her head out the door and calls for someone to come and take a look."

The doctor comes in and checks Piper. He smiles and says "Showtime. Are you ready?" Piper nods, she is ready to be done with this.

"Al, sit behind me."

"What?"

"I mean it, sit behind me. Get on the bed and sit behind me." Piper demands

Alex takes off her shoes and jacket and puts her hair into a ponytail and rolls up her sleeves. She steps up onto the bed and straddles behind Piper. Piper grabs her hands and brings them in front of her.

The doctor places Piper's feet in the stirrups and tells her to push when she feels like she's ready.

Piper starts pushing. This goes on for what seems like forever.

"Jesus fucking Christ. Al, this hurts. This hurts so much." Piper manages to get out, breathing heavily.

"I know baby, but we are almost there."

Another 20 minutes of pushing and Piper feels a fire.

"I can see the top of the baby's head." The doctor says. It wouldn't be that much longer now.

Piper keeps pushing and the fire feeling increases. She stops.

"Oh my God, this is ridiculous. I feel like I'm on fire." She spits out

"You're doing great. You're almost there, the top of the head is out.

Alex's hands feel like they're being squeezed off, but she figures it is nothing compared to what Piper is feeling, so she deals with it. She keeps encouraging Piper, telling her how well she's doing, kissing her neck, and holding her hands.

"Okay Piper. One or two more big pushes and you'll have your baby." The doctor says.

Piper builds up all of her strength and bares down. After a few moments of the most intense burning pain she's every felt in her life, she feels an immediate relief. She opens her eyes and there in the doctor's hands is a pink, squirming, screaming baby. Her baby. The nurse places a towel on Piper's chest and Piper leans back. The doctor places the screaming baby on her chest. Alex is crying behind her, and Piper is crying-holding their baby.

"Hey baby." Piper says, looking in awe of what she made.

"Piper, it's a girl." Alex says, wiping the tears from her eyes, and reaching to stroke the baby's skin.

Piper turns to kiss Alex, and Alex rests her head on Piper's shoulder. They're both just gazing at their daughter.

**SO, she is finally here! Hope you all enjoyed the chapter. Anyways, so this is where their journey as parents begins. Please continue to review, because I love seeing them, and leave suggestions. I appreciate all of the feedback I've been getting, so thank you. Maybe a double chapter update today? We'll see. I go on Thanksgiving Break this coming weekend, so I will hopefully be writing a lot while I'm home, so yay! Thanks again for everything, and please review! :)**


	13. They're a Family

One of the nurses picks the baby off of Piper's chest and takes her over to be cleaned up, weighed, and printed.

Alex walks over to the nurses and is just staring at her daughter. She's felt love before. She loves Piper. But this is a different kind of love. A love for a child is a whole new level of love. Alex is crying. They hand her the baby and she just takes her all in.

Blonde hair, blue eyes, she is basically Piper's twin. Alex kisses her on the top of her head and turns to Piper and hands her the baby.

"So does she have a name?" One of the nurses asks.

Alex looks at Piper and Piper nods. "Uh, yeah, it's Ella Diane Vause."

Alex looks back over at Piper and they smile at each other with tears in their eyes.

"It's lovely", the nurse says.

Alex places Ella in Piper's arms. "Hey, Ella. I'm your mommy and that's your mommy, too. We love you so much, and we have waited a really long time to meet you. You have a whole bunch of people waiting to meet you." Piper says, Alex standing next to her still processing all the has happened in the last 10 minutes.

Piper gets cleaned up and lays back down. She is exhausted, and sore, and quickly falls asleep. Alex is sitting in the chair with Ella. Her little head in her palms, and her tiny body resting on her forearms, and Alex is just staring at her.

Her rosy cheeks, blonde hair, and soft pink lips. She is all Piper. Her eyes aren't like Piper's, though. They are green, kind of like Alex's, which makes Alex smile, because it's like she is a part of her a little bit, even though biologically she's not. Biological or not, it didn't matter, Ella was Alex's child, and Alex's loved her more than anything. Alex's eyes trace over every bit of her. The way her nose curves, and her eyelashes are so small and blonde. How when she sleeps, she sucks in her lips every so often. Her hands are so small, and Alex doesn't think she's every seen anything so cute. She is just in awe of everything that Ella is. She's perfect, and Alex is just taking it all in.

A small knock is at the door and Alex tells them to come in.

Red walks in. Her face lights up when she sees Alex with the baby, her grandchild.

"Oh my word. She is beautiful." She says, smiling at Alex. "She looks so much like Piper."

"Yeah, I know. Two blondes to boss me around. I'm done for." Alex says, smiling at the baby.

"Can I?" Red asks, not wanting to assume

"Oh of course." Alex passes Ella to Red.

"What's her name?"

"Ella Diane Vause." Alex smiles at their daughter

"Beautiful." Red gently kisses the newborns' head.

She passes the baby back to Alex.

"I'll go, I just wanted to see her. I'll come back later."

"Okay. Thanks for coming." Alex says, and Red turns and closes the door as she walks out.

She lays on the couch that is in the room and places the baby on her chest, stroking her back.

Piper wakes up a couple of hours later and looks over and sees her wife laying on the couch, just watching every breath Ella takes. She tries to sit up, and is hit with a sharp pain. She is really sore. She winces, and Alex hears it. She sits up, gently places the baby is the bassinette, and walks over to help Piper up.

"Hey, how are you feeling?"

"Sore, tired, so hungry." Ella starts crying and Alex goes over to see what's wrong.

"I bet she's hungry, too. She hasn't eaten like at all…ever."

Alex hands Piper the baby and Piper takes out her breast in an attempt to feed her. Ella latches on.

"Oh my God, that is the weirdest thing I have ever felt." Piper says, laughing a little and then looking back down at Ella.

Alex is just amazed by everything.

Ella must have gotten her fill because she unlatched and seemed to have no interest anymore. Piper placed her on her shoulder and pats her back until she burps.

"How'd you know to do that?" Alex asks

"I know things." Piper says, grinning.

There is another knock at the door and Polly walks in. She is immediately a puddle of tears.

"Oh my God, Piper, she's gorgeous." She says, stroking her head of blonde hair. "She looks just like you." Polly takes a few pictures before she says there's a line and she can't take up too much time. Next to walk in is Nicky.

"Holy sh-"

"Nicky." Alex says sternly

"I mean, wow. Just wow. I don't even know what to say." Alex gets up and picks Ella up out of Piper's arms and walks over to Nicky.

"Sit down"

Nicky sits down.

"Get ready."

Nicky extends her hands to grabs Ella, and then wraps her arms around her, cradling her. "She is gorgeous. Looks just like you Chapman."

Alex laughs, "Literally everyone has said that."

Nicky just sits there staring at the baby. "I'm your Aunt Nicky, and you can come to me any time one of your moms is giving you a hard time and we can talk it out. Okay?" She says to the baby, and gives her a kiss on the top of her head before passing her back to Alex. "Okay, well I'm going to run, but I'll stop by the house after you're all settled in and whatever. So happy for ya." She gives a little wave and exits the room.

Well we have established that she looks just like you." Alex says as she passes the baby back to Piper, and then pulls up a chair to sit next to the bed. She rests her heads the her hands which are on top of the bed and just looks at them two. She is so in love that it hurts.

Piper looks at her daughter and all she feels is love. Overwhelming love. She looks at Alex she is looking at her. "We did it. We really did it." She says, tears in her eyes. Alex leans up to gives her and then kiss Ella. They did it. They're a family.

**Okay, so double update today, because I felt like it was definitely necessary, and I like you guys, so enjoy. Hopefully you like the name. I thought it sounded good, hopefully you guys agree. On the topic of last chapter, I totally understand the whole getting weirded out by reading childbirth scenes, they're not easy to read, also not easy to write. My thoughts behind it though were if I can write smut and things like that, I might as well go ahead an jump in for that part of the story, too. Hopefully it wasn't too much-if it was, my apologies. Anyways, I'm glad that part of the story is done, and I'm really excited for some of the things that are to come, and hopefully you all stick around to see it unfold. Thanks again for your reviews. You're all awesome. :)**


	14. Coming Home

After being in the hospital for two days, Alex and Piper are ready to go home and get into their own routine. Ella is a good baby. Yes, she cries and needs diaper changes every 20 minutes it seems like, but she is a good baby. She sleeps, which is a good thing, and Piper and Alex are keeping their fingers crossed that she keeps up the sleeping habit.

Piper and Ella are wheeled outside as Alex brings the car around. The get her car seat all buckled in and secured, and after Alex inspects it a hundred time, it is deemed safe for travel. Piper slides in next to Ella, and Alex goes around and starts the short 5 minute drive to their apartment. They unload everything, not that there is much to unload, a couple bags and of course, Ella.

They walk inside the front door to see that Nicky and Red have obviously been there and cleaned their apartment, but that's okay. It probably really needed it.

"Ella, you're home!" Alex whispers as she reaches down and takes the baby out of her carrier, kissing her. They walk back to the nursery and Alex places her in her crib. Piper and Alex stand there for a few minutes just watching her sleep. Alex turns on the baby monitors and angles it so she can see Ella perfectly and they walk out of the room and into their bedroom which is right next door.

Piper and Alex both collapse on the bed, totally exhausted. Piper falls asleep almost instantly. Alex is too nervous to sleep, so she goes into the office to grab some of the baby things they had bought. She grabs the box with the bassinet in it, and takes it into the living room to put it together. It takes about an hour, but she decided that she wants Ella to sleep in their room, at least for the first couple of weeks, until they get a routine down. She carries the bassinet into the bedroom and sets it on her side of the bed, for now, since she is the one who is awake. She walks into the nursery and sees that Ella is just beginning to stir. She checks her diaper, which is definitely in need of a change. She cleans her up and figures that she is probably hungry. Piper hasn't started pumping, so Alex has to wake her up to feed Ella.

Piper sits up slowly, still sore obviously. She feeds Ella and then she hands her over to Alex who burps her, swaddles her, and then places her in the bassinet. Alex lays down, watching her daughter sleep, until she is overcome by sleep, too.

Ella has a first good night at home. She only cries a couple of time to be fed and changed, which is good, because Piper can do the feedings, and then Alex takes over the changing and soothing. Alex knows how tired Piper is. She wants her to do as little as possible for now, so other than feeding, Alex is covering all the bases.

Piper wakes up, and has a brief panic moment when she looks at the bassinet, which had been moved to her side of the bed, and sees that it's empty. She looks next to her and no Alex. Piper gets up quickly and walks into the nursery. Empty. She walks out to the living room and her heart swells. Ella is laying on Alex's chest as Alex lays asleep on the rug.

Piper walks over and gets the camera, making sure she gets this moment on camera. They had probably taken a few hundred photos since she was born, but Piper thinks this one is going to be her favorite.

Piper takes this little bit of quiet time to go through some of their baby gifts they had gotten, and find the breast pumps. She figures it will make things easier if she just goes ahead and does it now, so she reads the instructions, puts them together and it starts to pump.

"Jesus Christ" she says. It's so uncomfortable, but she knows she has to do it.

She goes and puts the pumped milk in the fridge and makes sure they're labeled and times are written down on them.

She goes and sits on the couch and just watches her wife and daughter laying there on the floor. After a little while, Alex wakes up, careful to not disturb the sleeping newborn laying on top of her. She spots the blonde sitting on the couch smiling at them.

"Good morning, baby. How long have you been sitting there?" She says, gently lifting Ella, so that she can get up and place her in the rocker so she can go sit with Piper.

She sits down and snuggles up next to Piper, wrapping around her arms and resting her head on her. They're both staring at the sleeping baby who has no clue that anybody is watching her.

"This doesn't seem real." Piper says

"I know, I keep thinking it's a dream, and I'm going to wake up and she's not going to be here, and I panic."

"How long have you been out here with her?"

"Uh, since about 7, so like 3 hours." Alex says, looking at the clock on the wall. "She was a little fussy after you fed her, so I brought her out here and decided to lay down with her. I didn't want to lay on the couch, you know, in case she rolled or something."

"Oh, well that makes sense."

"So, what are we going to do today?"

I don't know, it's up to you. Whatever you want."

"I kind of just want to be here. Just the three of us for a couple days before we have anyone over. You know what I mean?"

"Yeah, I think that's a good idea." Alex says, kissing Piper's cheek. "I'm going to make us some breakfast." She says, getting up and walking into the kitchen.

Piper is sitting on the couch just thinking taking everything in. She's never been so happy in her life. She feels complete.

**So they're home. Hopefully you all enjoyed this chapter. Lots more to come, so please review and leave feedback, because it is much appreciated, and very helpful when I'm writing. Writing this story is the only thing getting me through the week, and I hope you all like it as much as I do. Anyways, thanks for reading!**


	15. Home Alone

The first 3 weeks have been exhausting. Sleep deprivation, constant stream of visitors, and learning new things every day. Alex has been such a huge help. She does a lot of the night time things, like night feedings, and changings. Piper does the day feedings herself, because she likes that bonding time with Ella. They have a system down, and it works for them, but it doesn't mean they aren't tired, and now Alex has to go back to work. Piper is okay with it, but Alex on the other hand is a nervous wreck. It's not that she doesn't think Piper will be okay, because she knows she will. Piper is the best with Ella. Alex just doesn't want to spend the next 9 hours away from them, especially Ella. She's afraid she'll miss something.

"Al, go. We'll be fine. She's 3 weeks old. She's not going to do much of anything." Piper reassures Alex who is sitting on the couch, holding Ella, savoring the last moments until she has to go.

"I know. I know. It's just, I want to be here, and not there. I don't want to leave her, I mean look at her. She's freaking adorable. Who wants to not be able to see that every second of every day?" Alex says.

"I'll send you pictures and give you updates all day. Now go, you're going to be late and Polly needs you! She let you take a week of working from home after the original two weeks. You have to go. "

"Okay, Okay. Bye baby. Mommy will miss you sooo much. Don't do anything too cute while I'm gone." Alex says, placing little kisses all over Ella's face. "And don't you do anything too cute while I'm gone, either." She says, playfully smiling at Piper, and kissing her goodbye.

Piper picks up Ella's hand and waves it goodbye at Alex. "Goodbye Mommy." Piper says before kissing all over Ella.

Piper feeds Ella, burps her, and puts her down for a little bit. This alone time gives Piper some time to sleep a little bit.

Piper wakes to the sound of the phone ringing.

"Hello?" Piper says in a groggy voice.

"Chapman. Did I wake ya?" Nicky

"Uh, yeah, but it's okay."

"Good. Well I was wondering if you wanted me to pick up some lunch and bring it over. Thought maybe you'd like some company since Alex is at work."

Piper smiles into the phone, "Yeah, that sounds good. Where are you stopping for lunch?"

"Uh, well, there's a little deli around the corner from your apartment. I can pick up some sandwiches or something."

"Yeah, I'll take a turkey and swiss on wheat."

"Alrighty, see ya in a bit."

Piper goes to check on Ella. She is just laying in her crib, not making a noise. Piper picks her up, feeds her, and takes her into the living room. 20 minutes later, Nicky knocks on the door.

"It's unlocked." Piper says

"Hey, Chapman." Nicky's eyes focus on Ella and she sets the bags down on the coffee table, and reaches out for her. Piper hands Ella too her, and watches Nicky. It's so weird to see this side of her. Nurturing, cute, and actually normal. Piper can't help but smile.

"Here, let me take a picture of you two." Piper says, pulling out her phone.

Nicky poses for a couple pictures with Ella, and then hands her back to Piper who goes and puts her in the bouncer on the floor. Piper and Nicky eat their lunch, and they talk for a while.

"How is everything going?"

"Pretty good. She sleeps a lot, and the nights aren't too bad. Alex is such a huge help. I couldn't do this without her." Piper says, smiling at Ella, and then smiling because she realizes Alex will be home in 2 hours.

"How is Alex with her?"

"Amazing. She's amazing. I know what people mean when they say it's like watching the person they love fall in love for the first time. I can see how Alex looks at her, and is protective of her, and how much love she has for her, and it just make me melt." Piper says, and then she blinks back tears, and smiles at Nicky. "It's these damn hormones." She says, laughing back the tears.

Nicky runs her arm, letting her know it's okay. "Oh don't worry Chapman. I'm not judging you. After I went and saw you guys at the hospital, I went home to Lorna and I was talking about seeing you guys there and I got choked up." Nicky smiles as she looks down. "Just something about babies."

Piper wipes her eyes again, and laughs. "Yeah, something about them." And she looks over at Ella who is fast asleep in her bouncer.

"Okay, well I've got to get going. I'm glad we got to see each other." She walks over to Ella and bends down to give her little kisses. "And I'll see you later, okay?" Nicky hugs Piper and walks out the door.

Piper goes back to the couch and turns on the TV. She must have dozed off for a bit because a while later she hears the doorknob jiggling, and in walks Alex. Alex gives Piper a quick kiss and goes straight for Ella who is sitting in her rocker.

"Hey baby girl." She says, gently lifting her out of the rocker, and over her head, then bringing her down to kiss her face. I missed you all day."

"How was work?"

"Hell. I missed you guys so much. I showed Polly about a hundred pictures, and then the rest of the time when I wasn't sending emails and making phone calls, I was looking at them.

"Well we are glad you're home." Piper says, wrapping her arms around Alex waist, and resting her head on her shoulder.

"Me too." Alex says, smiling, and kissing Piper. "So, how was your day?"

"Good. I took a little bit of a nap, Nicky stopped by with lunch, so she stayed for a while."

"That was nice."

"Yeah, she's so cute with Ella. It's actually adorable."

"Nicky Nichols? Adorable?"

"Yes, you should see her. It's cute." Piper says

"Alright, I believe you." Alex says flashing that Vause smile at Piper. "So do you want me to order Chinese or something?"

"Uh, yeah, Chinese sounds good."

Alex order and a half an hour later the delivery man brings the food.

Alex and Piper eat, Ella is sleeping in her rocker.

"Oh my God, I'm so full. I'm never going to lose this weight if I keep eating."

"Pipes. You look beautiful. Don't worry about it."

"It's just, I have all this sag, and ugh, the stretch marks. I just can't."

"Stop." Alex says, getting up from her chair and grabbing Piper's hands, pulls her up towards her, and into a passionate kiss. She looks into Piper's eye, "Don't talk about yourself that way. You're gorgeous, and those things don't matter. You got them from Ella, and they're beautiful. Don't say otherwise." Alex says, before bringing Pipers face to hers for another kiss.

Piper feels a rush of desire come over her..."Oh God, just 6 more weeks." Piper says, almost in a growling tone.

"Don't remind me." Alex grits out. She turns away from Piper, and picks up the leftovers and puts them in the fridge.

They both decide that Ella needs a bath, so they bathe her, feed her, and put her to bed.

Piper goes and takes a shower, and Alex settles in to reading a book. Piper walk out the shower in thin pajama pants and one of Alex's old shirts. She always loves to sleep in them. She scoots her way on the bed, and lays right up against Alex. Alex puts her book on the nightstand, hooks her arm around Piper, and Piper then rests her head on her chest.

"I heart you." Alex says

Piper smiles softly at the memory of where that came from.

"I heart you too." She says back, smiling, feeling nothing but love. Pure love.

Alex kisses the top of her head, and holds her tight for a while. They just lay there, and after a while, Alex notices that Piper's breathing has evened out, and she knows she is asleep. blonde turns more in towards her and wraps her fingers in Alex's shirt. Alex can't help but smile, because this has been the best part of her day-laying here with her wife in silence.

She leans over and kills the light before settling back into the bed, and she drifts off to sleep too.

**So, I hope you all liked it. Next chapter will have a bit of smut, to make up for the lack of recently. If you've missed it, it will definitely be back tomorrow. Hope you are all still enjoying the story, and don't forget to review! :)**


	16. Saturdays

Saturday is Alex's favorite day of the week. It's the only real free day. There isn't the possibility of work the next day, and she usually spends it with Piper, snuggling on the couch, ordering in food, and doing nothing unless it is absolutely necessary. Since Ella was born, it's their bonding day. They just spend it together. Alex, Piper, and Ella…

Alex gets up early Saturday and brushes her teeth and takes a quick shower. She throws on some sweatpants and an old sweater. She walks into Ella's room and is greeted by a smiling baby.

"Hey, Monkey." She says softly, lifting Ella up out of her crib and sees she needs a diaper change. She changes her, and then lays her on the floor and sits cross legged in front of her. Playing with her feet, tickling her belly, and placing little kisses on her nose. Ella loves it, cooing and babbling with joy, reaching up to grab Alex's long hair, and playing with her glasses.

Alex looks over her. "I can't believe how big you're getting." The passed three months have gone by so fast. Alex notices something new every day, and she loves it. She just wishes it would slow down a little bit.

"You want to go see Mommy?" Alex says, and then picks up Ella and places her on her hip and walks to the bedroom.

Piper is fast asleep. She has been so tired. Going back to work was hard on her, but she is finally getting back into it. Red watches Ella during the day, and then Nicky picks her up and brings her back to Piper and Alex's place at 5:30.

Alex smiles at Piper who has her hand draped over her face and is snoring softly. She walks over to her side of the bed and gets in, putting Ella on her back next to Piper. Ella immediately goes for Piper's hair, and between the smiling and happy giggles, Piper wakes up. A smile spreads across her face as she wraps Ella up and smothers her in kisses. She sits up and leans back onto the headboard, laying Ella in her lap. She leans over and gives Alex a kiss.

"Good morning." She says, smiling into Alex's lips. She looks back down at Ella "And good morning to you too girlie." She says before burying her face in Ella belly to make her laugh.

"I love this." Alex says, looking down at Ella and smiling

"What?" Piper says, distracted by the squirming baby laying on her lap.

"This. The whole family thing. I just love it."

"Me too." Piper says smiling at Alex "I feel like we are pretty much complete."

"Pretty much?"

"Well, yeah, for now at least…"

This catches Alex's attention. "For now?"

"What? You don't want anymore of these crawling around?"

"Well, maybe, I don't know. I mean she is new. Like brand new."

"Oh God, not now. Definitely not now, but maybe later. Like in a few years."

"Maybe. I guess it's something to think about." Alex says, pushing her glasses back on top of her head. "But for now, I just want to only think about this one." She says, picking up Ella's feet and kissing them.

"Yeah, me too." Piper says, smiling down at Alex and Ella.

They spend a while just wasting time, sitting in bed and taking in every moment.

"Hey Al, would you be okay if I went out for a run here in a little while?"

"Yeah, I'm not going anywhere. I've got her. Go, go and get some fresh air."

"Okay, I'll be back in a little bit." Piper goes and puts on running clothes and her running shoes. She's been working out a little bit, trying to lose the weight. Piper loves to run. So takes off down the block.

Alex gives Ella a bottle, and puts her down for a nap. She makes herself a little lunch, and turns on the TV. A while later, a sweaty, out of breath Piper comes walking into the apartment.

"Good run?"

"Yeah, good. Best time since I got cleared for exercise." she puts her iPod and headphones on the table. "I need a shower."

She starts taking clothes off on the way to the shower. Alex hears the water turn on and figures she'd give it a few minutes. She hears Piper singing in the shower, and gets a little smile. She walks to the nursery, checks on Ella. She is fast asleep, and should be for a little while longer. Alex makes her way into the bedroom and undresses and walks into the bathroom. Steam has fogged up the glass door, but Piper is just able to make out Alex standing there. Alex grabs the door and pulls it open, and the cool air makes goosebumps form all over Piper. Piper reaches out her hand for Alex, pulls her in, and puts her arms around Alex's neck, looking right into her eyes.

The smell of Piper's lavender body wash fills the shower. It's so Piper. Alex leans in and begins to kiss Piper. She runs her hands up and down her back, before slipping down to cup her ass. Piper moans out. Alex raises her knee a little to make contact with Piper's center. Piper's moan is quickly swallowed by Alex's lips.

"Al, I need you."

"Where?"

Piper shoots her a glare, because Alex knows exactly what she means.

Alex pushes Piper up against the wall of the shower, pinning her hands over her head. She roughly kisses Piper, and starts working her way down. Down her jawline, nipping at her earlobe, down her neck. She grabs one of Piper's breasts with her free hands and kisses over the other one. She makes a trail of kisses down Piper's stomach, and Piper let's out another moan.

Alex looks up, "Shh. Not too loud, Ella is sleeping."

Piper nods quickly, and then throws her head back when Alex grabs her thigh and places it over her shoulder.

Alex kisses the crease at the top of her thigh and then on her mound. Piper is tense. She is bracing herself on the shower wall with one hand, and covering her mouth with the other. Alex runs two fingers through her folds, and gathers some of the wetness that has formed. She brings her fingers to her mouth. "God, I've missed this." She hums out, and then her eyes go dark and Piper knows she's about to lose all control.

Alex flattens her tongue and runs it up and down, gently nipping at her bundle of nerves. She takes one finger and slides it in, curling on every other thrust, and Piper has her head back. She can barely hold on. She gasps loudly when Alex inserts two more fingers, and begins sucking on her roughly. Piper brings her hands down to tangle in Alex's hair.

"Al, I'm gonna-" she doesn't even make it through the sentence before her world comes crashing down. She shakes and her body bows. She pulls at Alex's hair, and it's painful, but the good kind. Alex works her down from her high, and when Piper is finally stable enough, and slips out of her, and kisses her way back up. Piper pulls her in for one of the hottest kisses they've had in a long time.

"Oh my God" is all Piper says, and Alex laughs

"That bad?" Alex asks, raising one eyebrow for the classic Vause look

Piper places her hands on Alex's cheeks, "The worst." She says smiling, before crashing her lips into Alex's. "I've missed this, so much."

Alex smiles back at her, "Too much..."

They can hear Ella crying through the baby monitor in their room.

"I've got it." Alex says, smirking at Piper

"I'll get you back later" Piper says seductively as Alex gets out of the shower and wraps a towel around herself.

Alex turns to her and winks, "Can't wait." And she walks out of the room.

She thinks to herself and smiles, "I love Saturdays…"

**Hopefully you're all happy that some smut was added back into it. ;) I figured it had been long enough. Please don't forget to review, they are always lovely to read, and leave suggestions, because I am definitely open to them. Thanks for reading!**


	17. Christmas Eve

New York is beautiful in December. Piper and Alex always go and see the lights and walk in the snow, and Piper can't help but make snow angels as Alex watches on at how cute her wife is. Piper is even more excited for Christmas this year than usual. It's Ella's first Christmas. Usually Piper and Alex throw a big party, but not this year.

A couple of weeks before Christmas, Alex comes home with a bag full of stuffed animals, and toys, and a bunch of gifts?

"Jesus, did you rob a toy store?" Piper asks, looking at all she brought in.

"Christmas gifts…for Ella." Alex says smiling and waving her arms at all she has bought.

"Al, that's so much stuff. Does she really need all of that?"

"Of course she does!" Alex says "Is she sleeping?"

"Yeah, she's been napping for a little bit, but she should be up in a while."

"Okay, good. I'm going to go and put these in the office."

"What? Afraid a 5 month old is going to find her Christmas presents?"

"Well you never know." Alex says, carrying all the bags into the office

Piper can't help but laugh at her wife. Alex was never a big Christmas person, but she guesses Ella changed that.

Alex comes back out holding something in her hands. "Oh, and I got this. I thought she could wear it on like Christmas eve or day or something." She says holding up the cutest Christmas onesie Piper's ever seen. It has little Christmas trees and reindeer and snowflakes on it. It's adorable.

"Oh my God, Al. That's perfect!" Piper says

"I thought so too." She says, folding it up and setting it on the back of the couch.

"So, I was thinking, maybe we could have a couple people over on Christmas Eve. Not a party, just Red, Nicky, Lorna, Polly and Finn."

"Uh, yeah, that would be good."

"Here's the catch. I was thinking that it would be Christmas pajama themed."

"Wait. You're not saying. No-" Alex says

"Yes, let's do the footie pajamas!"

"Piper, you know how much I hate those."

"Yeah, well do it for Ella. And for Finn. He loves them."

"Aw, no fair, playing the Ella card." Alex says

"Well it works."

"Yeah, okay, fine. We can wear them."

"Yay! I'll send out a message and let everyone know."

Christmas Eve rolls around two weeks later and Piper is busy baking cookies. Elvis Christmas music is playing. The tree is lit and decorated, and Ella is smiling, playing on her little play set that is on the floor. It has a set of dangling toys overhead that she just can't get enough of. She reaches up and squeals with excitement the entire time, and Alex can't help but laugh and take videos every time. Polly walks in and Finn is trailing behind her.

"Alex!" Finn says, running over to meet her on the couch. Alex reaches her arms out and wraps him in a hug, "Hey Buddy. Merry Christmas Eve." She says, sweeping the snow out of his hair.

Polly walks into the kitchen and hugs Piper, and then walks over to Ella and can't help but pick her up.

"She's getting so big." She says "Hey, pretty girl" and then she swipes her finger down her nose making Ella smile big.

"Here, let me get a picture." Alex says, reaching for a camera and snapping a couple of shots.

Red walks in about 15 minutes later.

"Merry Christmas!" she says, her thick Russian accent filling the room. She kisses Piper and Alex on the cheek and says hello to Polly and Finn, and then picks Ella up and sits with her on the couch.

"Merry Christmas, little one." She says, bouncing her on her knee gently.

Ella clasps her hands together and brings them to her face. She loves Red and all the attention she gives her.

A moment later, wild-haired Nicky comes in with Lorna.

"Merry Christmas!" she yells, in typical Nicky fashion.

"Hey, Lorna. Merry Christmas" Alex and Piper say. Nicky goes over to Red and hugs her and then takes Ella right out of her hands.

"Kid, you've got to stop growing so fast. You're killing me." She says, kissing Ella all over her face.

"I want to see her." Lorna says, holding her hands out

"She's precious." Lorna says, making cooing noises and cute faces at her. She sits with her for a few minutes and then passes her to Alex

"Are you excited? Everyone is here to see you. Your Aunt Polly, and Nicky, and Lorna, and Red came to see you, and your cousin, Finn. All here to see you." Alex says, and then tickles her belly making her giggle loudly "Silly girl." Alex says

"Okay, everyone there's appetizers, and cookies, and drinks, and juices. Anything you want."

"Nice PJ's, Chapman." Nicky says, pointing to the Christmas tree decorated footie pajamas Piper is wearing.

"Well Alex has a matching pair, and she said she'd wear them, and then they conveniently went missing." Piper says, shooting Alex a little glare.

"Babe, I swear, I have no clue where they went."

"Mhmm." Piper says. "No, it's fine. I'm going to go and change anyways, these are too hot."

She comes back out a little bit later in some jeans and a Christmas sweater.

They all sit around the living room eating and talking, and watching Christmas movies.

Piper is sitting on the floor and Ella is sitting in her lap. Alex notices that Ella has fell asleep and is totally slumped to the side.

"Babe, let me take her to bed." Alex says, getting up and walking over to pick her up.

Piper lifts her gently up to Alex, and Alex takes her, placing her on her chest with her head resting on her shoulder.

"She's too cute." Nicky says, smiling at Piper

"Yeah, can't wait to get her up in the morning and bring her out to all her presents. Alex bought out Toys R Us, basically for her." She says laughing

Finn walks over to Piper and asks "Can I sit with you now?"

"Yeah, bud, come here." She says, patting her lap, and Finn sits down.

They haven't spent as much time together as they used to since Ella was born. She would have to have a Finn weekend shortly to make up for it.

Alex comes walking out of the back room with some gifts.

"So, we have some stuff for you guys." She passes them out, everybody getting one, and hen Finn gets a couple.

Nicky gets a new sweater and some really cool t-shirts that Alex had found when she was out shopping one day. "These are awesome. I love them. Thanks guys." She says, smiling

Lorna gets a nice pair of earrings and a really pretty necklace that Piper had picked out. "Beautiful. Thank you."

Polly got a giftcard for a spa day, which Polly was grateful for since she was in desperate needs of a day of relaxation. "Oh my God, yes." Is all she says, and hugs Piper and Alex both

Red gets a big basket of lotions, and bath supplies and candles. Along with a framed picture of Ella and Red that had been taken a couple of months before. Red smiles, and hugs them both.

Finn tears through his presents to uncover a remote control car and some action figure that he had mentioned while Piper and Polly were out shopping with him one day. "Yes!" he says. And Polly reminds him to say thank you, and he does. Everyone stays for a while longer before heading out.

Alex and Piper clean up, and then Alex gets dressed into comfy pajamas and slips into bed. Piper walks in the bathroom and walks out a few minutes later with a red lacy set of lingerie that cuts off right below her waist, with a cute little Santa hat with a bell on the end. She jingles the bell a bit and Alex looks up from her book. Her jaw almost hits the floor.

"Merry Christmas, baby." Piper says seductively, winking at Alex and taking a couple steps forward, biting her lip.

"Merry Christmas to me" Alex says, beckoning Piper over with her finger.


	18. Christmas Day

Alex wakes up early Christmas morning. She is tangled up with Piper after their night of "Christmas celebration" as Piper called it. Alex told Piper it was the best Christmas present she had every gotten. She gets out of bed and steps over the Santa hat and red lingerie that was thrown onto the floor last night. She walks out to the kitchen and makes a pot of coffee. She looks in on Ella who is still sleeping, but she figures it won't be that much longer before she wakes up.

Alex goes to the office and gets all the bags that she had gotten from the toy store and brings them into the living room. She arranges all the gifts in a cute little scene. It looks like a Christmas catalog scene. Most of it is Ella's, and she has a special little pile of stuff for Piper.

She pours two cups of coffee for her and Piper and walks into their bedroom sitting the cups on the nightstand. Piper is still sleeping, sporting the hottest post sex hair Alex has ever seen. Her hand is draped over her forehead and her lips are slightly parted. Alex just stares for a minute before reaching an arm across and pulling Piper towards her. Piper lets out a tired moan and rolls onto her side, making herself the little spoon. Alex kisses the back of her neck, "Merry Christmas" she whispers, stroking her stomach. Piper rolls over and puts her head into Alex's chest and grips her t shirt with her fingertips, "Merry Christmas, Al".

"I have coffee" Alex says, and Piper pushes back from her a little, looking at Alex with those blue eyes that kill Alex every time. Alex reaches and grabs a coffee and hands it to Piper who is now sitting up against the headboard, knees pulled to her chest. She inhales the smell, and sips it.

"Mmm." She says, closing her eye. Piper has always had a thing about making noises when she eats or drinks.

Alex smiles at her. "Want to get Ella up in a little bit and open gifts? I was going to make waffles." She says

"Yeah, that sounds good. I'm so excited to see her in that onesie. We have to take a lot of pictures."

"We will." Alex says, knowing how important every picture is to Piper. Piper finishes her coffee and goes to brush her teeth. Alex goes to the kitchen and warms a bottle because she knows Ella is going to be up any minute. She heats it up and sure enough, there is a smiling, blondie laying in her crib, wide awake.

Alex leans over the crib and smiles, "Hey Monkey. Merry Christmas!" she holds her over her head, bringing her down for a kiss. Piper walks to the doorway and stop to look at her wife playing with Ella. She walks in and makes a cute face as soon as Ella sees her. Both of their faces light up. Piper reaches out for her, and Alex hands her to Piper.

"Merry Christmas Ella!" Piper says, giving her a kiss on the nose.

"You can feed her, and I can go and start breakfast." Alex says, handling her the bottle.

"Okay." She takes the bottle and sits with Ella in the rocking chair and gives her the bottle. She changes her, and puts her in the cute little onesie. Piper can't contain her excitement over how adorable Ella is. "Oh my goodness. You are the cutest baby I have ever seen." She says, tickling Ella, making her laugh loudly. She picks her up and sets her on her hip and walks out to the living room.

She sees all the gifts Alex has set up and smiles, and points at them and says to Ella, "Look, Santa brought you lots of presents." She walks over and sits Ella down in front of some of the stuffed animals. Alex walks over and sits down next to them, and Ella is just overwhelmed by everything that is in front of her.

"Pipes, her eyes are huge. She doesn't even know what to do." Piper gets up and gets the camera to take some videos and pictures. Alex picks up a couple stuffed animals and hands them to Ella who immediately starts chewing on them and playing with them. "I think she likes them." Alex says, laughing.

Alex gets up to finish making breakfast, and Piper notices the little pile of stuff that doesn't appear to be kids toys. She looks at them, and sees a couple small boxes, and things. Jewelry boxes, is one thing Piper can definitely make out. She looks over at Alex, "Are these mine?" she asks, pointing to the pile.

"Yeah, go ahead and open them." Piper smiles big, she loves getting gifts. She opens a longer box and inside is a beautiful necklace. Silver with a diamond charm. "Oh my God, Alex, it's beautiful." She says, taking it out and looking at it.

Alex walks up to her, "Here I'll put it on for you." She puts the clasp around her neck and links it. Piper gets up and looks in the mirror.

"It's perfect." She says smiling, kissing Alex. "Thank you baby."

"Open the rest!" Alex says, and so Piper does, really pretty scarf, some perfume, and then there is another box. Piper open it and tears well up in her eyes. They are pictures of Ella. "When did you do this?"

"A few weeks ago, when you went out with Polly and Finn. I took her to go and get some pictures taken."

"Alex, I love them. They're beautiful." She gets up and kisses Alex again. "I have your presents in the room. I knew I had to hide them, or else you'd find them." She says, getting up, walking to the room, and returning a minute later with several wrapped presents and boxes.

Alex opens them all. A coffee mug with Ella's pictures on it, a gorgeous pair of boots that Alex had mentioned when they passed by them while they were out one day, a couple of really cool t-shirts that Piper had found that just screamed Alex, and a pair of earrings. She opens the last box and her mouth falls open. It is the gorgeous watch that Alex had been eyeing for a while. Piper found it on the open on the computer desktop one morning and decided that would be what she got her. "Pipes, this is amazing." Alex thanks her and gives her a kiss.

"Look under the face of the watch. I had it engraved. Alex flips it over, "I heart you." she reads.

"Babe, it's perfect. Thank you." She gives her another kiss.

They eat breakfast, and then Ella plays with her toys for a while. Finally Ella falls asleep, and Alex puts her in the playpen. Alex and Piper curls up on the couch under a blanket watching none other than _The Christmas Story_ because it's tradition. Nicky come over a little while later since Lorna went home for the day to see her family.

Ella woke up as soon as Nicky got there. She always lights up extra bright when Nicky is around. She loves her Aunt Nicky.

"Hey, girlfriend." She says, picking her up out of the play pen and sitting on the floor with her. Ella has this thing about Nicky's hair. She can't get enough of it, but can you blame her? It's kind of ridiculous. She is always grabbing at it and playing with it, and Nicky doesn't mind. Ella does no wrong in her eyes. Ella pulls her hair, climbs all over her, puts her hands all over her face. Nothing. Nicky loves it. She is so good with Ella.

"Hey, do you guys mind if I crash here tonight? Lorna won't be back until tomorrow afternoon, and I don't want to be by myself."

"Yeah, of course it's okay. We can make up the pull out couch." Alex says

"I owe you one. Let me know whenever you need a babysitter, and I'll do it." Nicky says, making a face at Ella.

Piper laughs, "Okay, we'll keep that in mind."

The day goes by fairly fast, wince there is so much going on. By 8, everyone is so full from Christmas dinner, and everything, that they are ready for bed. Piper and Alex pull out the couch and make up the bed for Nicky. Ella is still awake, and Nicky offers to keep her until she falls asleep, which gives Alex and Piper the rare chance at an early night.

Piper strips down to her underwear and an old t-shirt, and Alex wears a pair of shorts and one of the new shirts Piper got for her. They tangle up together and Piper says, "Merry Christmas, baby. I hope you had a good one."

Alex smiles at her and searches her eyes. "I had a great Christmas. You, me, Ella, and Nicky. Best group of people I could've asked for. And that present last night. Amazing." she says squeezing her and kissing her shoulder.

Piper laughs a little, "I felt like it was a good gift."

"The best" Alex says, kissing her and then biting at her lip.

"Night babe. Merry Christmas." She says, kissing Piper goodnight. She turns off the light and they fall asleep.

Alex wakes up a while later and walks out to check and see if Nicky is okay. She stops at the sight that's in front of her. Nicky is laying on her side, and Ella is laying up next to her. They're both fast asleep, and Alex smiles, grabbing the camera to make sure she captures the moment. She grabs the end of the blanket, pulls it over the two and makes sure to put a pillow near the edge so Ella doesn't roll off in the middle of the night. She kisses Ella gently on the head and walks back to her bedroom to snuggle up with Piper.

"Best Christmas ever..." she says to herself, and she quickly falls back to sleep.

**So double update today because you're all awesome. I really appreciate the reviews and feedback. I hope you all liked this chapter, and please don't forget to leave a review or send me a message. Thanks again for reading! Some fun stuff coming up, so get ready. I'm excited for you all to read it. :)**


	19. Let's Go

It's March and Ella is doing so well. She's 8 months old, and such a happy baby. Sleeping through the night is finally a very normal occurrence, and Piper and Alex are grateful for it.

Piper walks in after a long day at work. Red is sick, so Alex worked from home that day to take care of Ella. Piper walks in to see Ella in her highchair with Alex feeding her whatever premixed baby food Piper had made the night before. It was probably something with sweet potato because it's Ella's favorite.

"Girl, you are getting it everywhere." Alex says to Ella. Ella just smiles like nothing is wrong.

Piper walks up behind Alex and wraps her arms around her neck, kissing her cheek. Alex reaches one hand up and squeezes her arm. "Hey, babe."

"I'm so hungry. Today sucked." Piper says, looking through the fridge for something to eat.

"Pizza will be here in 10 minutes…" Alex says, looking over at Piper.

"You're actually the best." Piper says, smiling back at her.

She grabs a paper towel and wets it upon seeing Ella's face covered in food. "Missy, you are making a mess." She says, wiping off her face, and giving her a kiss. "Was she good today?"

"Of course. We watched some TV, and she took a nap, and helped me with some filing, and then dumped the folders over, and I spent another hour refilling them all." Alex says, sighing a little bit

"Aw, babe, I'm sorry."

"It's fine. I should've known, she likes to make messes, and that definitely was a mess."

There is a knock at the door. Piper grabs $20 form her purse and gets the pizza from the delivery many, telling him to keep the change.

Pepperoni pizza. Simple, but so good. From their favorite pizza place. Piper pulls out two slices and hands them to Alex, and takes two for herself. They eat, talking about their day, and Piper venting about what was happening at the office that day.

"I'm going to go and give her a bath. Will you put the pizza in the fridge?"

"Yeah, I'll be in there in a minute."

Piper takes Ella out of her high chair, and goes into her room to change into something more comfortable. She grabs some athletic shorts and a sports bra, since she didn't want to get a shirt all wet, which was bound to happen with Ella splashing the water.

They go into the bathroom and Piper starts the water, making sure the water isn't too hot, and fills it a few inches. She takes Ella's clothes off, and puts her in the tub and gives her a rubber duck and some other little floating toys that she loves to play with. She washes her hair and they play the waterfall game which Ella loves. Alex walks in and sits in the toilet seat, and watches them, smiling at how excited Ella gets at bath time. Piper lets Ella sit in the tub for a bit, and keeps a close eye on her while her and Alex talk.

"So I got a call from one of the shops in Florida that we are try to work a deal with, and they want me to come down and meet with them."

"Florida?" Piper asks

"Yeah, they need me to sign some things and apparently I have to meet them in person. It's a big deal, they're a pretty big store, so it's gonna be good for business."

"When do they want you to go?" Piper asks

"Next Friday."

"In 8 days?"

"Yeah"

"Wow, okay. So, you need to book a plane ticket and make hotel arrangements. Are they covering the hotel?"

"Yeah, they said that they would. It's in Miami."

"How long will you be gone?"

"4 days. Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and then back Tuesday."

"Well okay, I'll have to talk to Polly about getting to leave early, so that someone can be here with Ella at night."

Piper picks Ella out of the tub, and hands her to Alex who is waiting with a towel. She dries her off, and then Piper takes her to the bed and dresses her in a cute little pajama set Red had gotten her a few weeks ago.

"Say goodnight to Mommy." Piper says, pointing at Alex. Alex walks over and kisses her goodnight, and Piper takes her to her room, reads her a bedtime story, puts her in bed and turns off the lights.

Piper walks back in and Alex is laying on the bed. Piper starts putting clothes away in the dresser.

"Come with me." Alex says

"What?" Piper says, turning around and walking towards the edge of the bed.

"Come with me to Miami. I'll buy you a plane ticket. I mean it come with me."

"Al, we have Ella, I have to be here."

"Nicky will take her. I already talked to her. You can come." She says, moving closer to Piper.

"I don't know. I mean there's work and Ella, and I don't know if we can just go."

"I talked to Polly, too. She said we were good to go."

"Wait, did you already plan everything?"

"Sort of…" Alex says, smiling shyly

"Alex…"

"We need a little alone time, and Miami will be fun. It'll be warm and a nice break."

"But Ella.." Piper says,

"She'll be fine. Nicky can handle her for a couple of days. If it gets to be too much, Red can take her for a bit. It's fine. She'll be okay."

"Yeah, I know. It's just she's little. I've never been away from her for more than a work day."

"I know, I'm going to miss her too. But we get to spend a couple of nights together…alone…in Miami." Alex winks at Piper

"Okay, I'm sold." Piper says, wrapping her arms around Alex's neck and kissing her. "We're going to Miami." Piper says, smiling into Alex's lips.


	20. Miami Baby

Piper kisses Ella goodbye over and over again, and makes sure Nicky has the list of emergency numbers, poison control, Polly, doctor's offices, and every other thing she could think of.

"Chapman, we'll be okay. I've got it." She picks up Ella arm and waves it at Piper and Alex. "Goodbye mommies" she says

Alex kisses her hands and blows it at Ella. "Bye baby!" She yells before getting in the cab to go to the airport.

Piper has tears in her eyes, and Alex grabs her hands and massages her thumbs over it. "She'll be okay, babe. Don't worry."

"I know. I know." Piper says, smiling and wiping back the tears with her other hand. "She'll be fine." She says, reassuring herself. This was hard on Piper. Ella was still just a baby, and Piper felt bad leaving her, but she knew it was a good experience for both of them.

Alex squeezes her hand, and Piper leans into her, head on her shoulder.

They arrive at the airport, check in the bags, and make it to their terminal in time to board.

"First class" is called, and Alex smiles at Piper, "Let's go." She says

They board the plane, and Alex orders them both a drink. Piper kind of gets nervous flying, but a drink usually helps a bit. They take off, Piper holding onto Alex's hand tightly, and Alex can't help smile a bit. She grabs Piper's thigh to reassure her that everything will be okay.

Within 2 and a half hours, the plane lands in Miami and they get off the plane, head to baggage claim, and Alex goes and gets the rental car. They drive to the hotel they're staying at. The company is paying for it, so it's very nice.

A bellhop escorts them to their room, and they walk in.

"Oh my God, Al, this is gorgeous."

"Yeah, babe. They really hooked us up." She slips the bellhop a generous tip, and he leaves.

It's a very nice room. A huge king bed, thick sheets and lots of pillows, a sitting area, and a little mini kitchen, with a master bathroom that has both a shower and a bathtub. It's incredible. There is a little balcony, and Piper finds herself standing there, taking in the breeze.

"Alex, this is perfect."

"Four days of this. You, me, and this amazing room and view."

Piper grabs her face and brings it towards her, "I love you" she says, capturing Alex's lips in a slow and steady kiss. Alex brings her hands to her waist, and starts grabbing at the hem of Piper's shirt, bringing it up and over her head. She quickly takes her own off. Piper basically rips off her pants, and does the same to Alex.

"Woah, someone is eager." Alex says, laughing a little. And wraps her hands around Piper and unhooks her bra with little effort. Piper smiles into her lips, "You've always been really good at that." She says, before crashing their lips together again. It's rough, teeth clanking, and lip biting. It's hot. It's desire. Piper pulls Alex's bra off, and slams her back onto the couch. Alex's eyes go dark, and Piper straddles her, grabbing her face, and Alex can't barely get a breath in. Piper slides off of her and hooks her fingers around the waistband of Alex's soaked underwear and rips them off in one quick motion.

"Jesus Pipes" Alex says breathless. Piper grabs her legs and pulls her to the edge of the couch, and kneels on the ground, placing kisses all over Alex's thighs, and hip bones, and then right on her center. She sticks out her tongue and dives right in, causing Alex's hips to buck up. Piper steadies her hip with one of her hands as the other one's fingers begin curling in and out of Alex at an unrelenting pace. Alex's hands shoot and tangle in the blonde's hair.

"Pipes…I'm…I'm" she throws her head back, and is unable to finish her sentence. Her stomach tightens and she feels herself lose all control as a powerful orgasm rips through her body. Her toes curl, her body bends, and she pulls at Piper's hair. Piper continues moving inside of her, bringing her down from her high, and then licking her clean, and then kissing her way up to Alex's lips.

Alex is laying there, eyes still closed, breathing heavily.

"I can't even…wow." Is all she manages to say

"Yeah" Piper says, before straddling Alex's hips and kissing her again. "I've been wanting to do that for a while."

"Well, you did. That's for sure." Alex says, wiping the sweat off of her forehead. "I think we properly christened the place." She says to Piper, winking

"Hell yeah we did. There's more where that came from."

"I'm going to get you back so good." Alex says.

"Oh yeah? Prove it." Piper says, and then she smirks and jumps off of her and runs to the shower.

Alex quickly gets up and follows her.

This is going to be such a good vacation.


	21. A Night Out

They wake up the next morning. Piper sits up. The sheets are tangled, but that's to bed expected after the night they had. Piper orders room service, and returns to the sleeping brunette in the bed. She checks her phone, and texts Nicky to make sure all is good. Nicky let's her know that everything is fine, and that Ella had a good night. No problems. Piper feels some relief.

The room service arrives. Blueberry pancakes, croissants, orange juice and fresh juice. She brings the tray and Alex quickly gets up.

"Mmm, looks so good." She says, grabbing a fork and digging into the pancakes. "Amazing." She says, and then picks up another piece for Piper to eat.

"So, I have that meeting with the store at 12, hopefully it's done by 2, and then we have dinner reservations, so wear something extra sexy." She says, winking at Piper. "Then I was thinking maybe we could go out for the night…on the town." She says, raising one of her eyebrows.

"Ooh, that sounds fun. We can go dancing!" Piper says

"Yeah, that's what I was thinking. It'll be fun." She says, smiling at Piper.

Alex goes and takes a shower, and gets ready for her meeting while Piper flips through the channels, munching on the food that's left on the tray. Alex come out, towel wrapped around herself, and her hair and makeup already done.

"Babe, you look hot." Piper says raking her eyes up and down Alex.

"Yeah, well I'll look like a hot business woman here in a minute. She goes and gets her meeting outfits from her bag. A black pencil skirt and a white blouse. She changes into that and fixes her hair so it's just right and throws on her black high heels. "So, what do you think?" she asks, turning around so Piper can see a 360 view of the outfit.

"Gorgeous. They'll never be able to say no to you in that."

"Let's hope you're right. Wish me luck!" she says, giving Piper a quick kiss and then heading for the door.

"Good luck!" Piper yells, and the door closes.

Piper decides to go and work out in the hotel gym. She changes into workout clothes and some tennis shoes that she brought, and puts her iPod armband on and heads down to the gym. She works out for an hour and decides to go back up to the room. When she walks in she is greeted by a large bouquet of flowers sitting on the table in the foyer area. A note is sticking on the top. It says: Pipes, thank you for coming with me. Make sure you put on something sexy and have your dancing shoes ready for tonight. I heart you. –Al

Piper smiles and places the card down. How sweet of Alex.

She takes off her clothes and jumps in the shower. It's 20 minutes later that she gets out and walks out into the bedroom to see Alex sitting there with her hands behind her back. "Hey, you're back. How'd it go?!"

"Well…" she brings out a bottle of champagne from behind her "It was great! We got the store!" she pops the champagne, and licks the neck of the bottle to clean up the overflow. She grabs two glasses that are sitting on the nightstand and pours Piper a bit, and then herself. "To PoPi." Alex says, and they clink their glasses together.

"So good." Piper says, quickly polishing off her glass.

"Yeah it is." She stands up to give Piper a kiss. "So, make sure you're ready to go by 5. That gives us an hour to get to the restaurant. You're going to love it." Alex says, smiling

"I'm sure." Piper says "Can't wait."

It takes Piper two hours to get ready, which Alex expected. Hair, makeup, picking out an outfit and then contemplating whether or not it was the right one for a solid half hour. "Pipes, hurry up. We have to leave in 20 minutes."

"I know, I know. I'm almost ready." A few minutes later, Piper walks out in a skin tight black dress that cuts off mid thigh.

"Holy shit." Is all Alex says

"You like?"

"I love it. You look amazing." She says, placing her hands on Piper's waist, and looking her up and down. "Wow."

"You look beautiful too, Alex."

Alex is wearing a navy blue dress, and it hugs in all the right places.

They put on their shoes, and grabs their clutches and head out the door. Alex had called for a cab, incase they drink too much, they don't have to worry about their rental car.

Piper calls Nicky on the ride over to check on Ella.

"Chapman!" Nicky answers

"Hey, Nick, how's everything going?"

"Good, we are getting ready for dinner. You want to talk to her?"

"Yeah, that would be great!"

"Here, I'll put you on speaker phone." Babbling and giggling can immediately be heard and Piper and Alex's faces both light up.

Piper is holding the phone between her and Alex's ears.

"Hey Monkey!" Alex says first.

"Hey baby!" Piper says "Are you being good for Aunt Nicky?"

Squeals and laughing is heard in the background. "If she could answer you, she would say yes. She's been great. No problems at all." Nicky says.

"Well we just wanted to check in and see how everything was going. We'll be on our cells if you need us."

"Okay, sounds good."

"Bye Ella!" They both say. "Love you, baby!" and Piper ends the call. She feels relieved. She can go out and have a good time now.

They pull up to a very nice restaurant on the water, and Alex helps Piper out of the car.

"Vause, table for 2" Alex says to the hostess

"Right this way, ladies." And she leads them to a beautifully decorated table with pink rose petals and a gorgeous view of the water. Alex pulls out Piper's chair and then goes and sits down.

"Al, this is amazing." Piper says, reaching her hand across the table, and Alex grabs it, rubbing her thumb over it.

A waiter comes over and pours them both glasses of white wine, and then takes their order. They both order grilled fish, and rice, with steamed vegetables.

"Are you having a good time?" Alex asks

"Yes. I'm having an amazing time. I didn't realize how much we needed this."

"Yeah, we really did. Sometime you just need together time...alone. No baby. Just us." She runs Pipers leg with her foot, smiling. "You excited for tonight?" she smiles at Piper.

"Yes! I can't wait to go dancing!" Piper says, her face lighting up.

They continue talking and a few minutes later, their food comes out.

"Al, this looks incredible." Piper says. She takes a bite. "Oh my God, ugh, it's so good." She says, closing her eyes.

"It's amazing." Alex says, laughing at her wife's reaction to really good food.

They finish their dinner, and sit and talk for a while longer, watching the sun set on the water. It's beautiful.

"So, you want to get going? I know a couple places we could go."

Let's do it." Piper says smiling. Alex takes her hand and leads her out of the restaurant and to a waiting cab.

They pull up outside of a club with a huge line out front.

"There's no way we're getting in." Piper says, looking a the line of people.

"Trust me, we'll get in." Alex says, taking her hand and pulling her behind her. Alex walks to the bouncer and says something to him, and he automatically let's them in.

"How'd you do that?" Piper asks, totally amazed.

"I know people." She says, winking at her.

"I feel like I'm 23, and no time has passed." Piper says

"Well baby, this is so much better than when you were 23. Trust me." Alex says, pulling her in for a kiss. They walk to the bar and Alex orders herself a martini and Piper a margarita, because the woman loves her tequila.

They have a couple drinks, and Alex can tell Piper is feeling the alcohol. She grabs Alex's hand and pulls her out onto the dance floor.

They dance, Piper grinding into Alex, and dancing all over her. They dance for a long time, and eventually Piper has to go and sit down.

"Another drink, babe?" Alex asks

"No, no more drinks. Too many drinks." Piper says, trying to catch her breath

"Lightweight" Alex says, nudging at her arm.

"What time is it?" Piper asks

"Uh, midnight."

"Oh my God. We're so old. Tired by midnight!" Piper laughs

"Ready to go?" Alex says, looking into Piper's eyes

"Take me home." Piper says, reaching for Alex's hands, and they leave the club. They make it back to the hotel and Alex helps Piper out of her dress and then gets out of her own. Piper doesn't even wait to get dressed, she flops onto the bed and lays there, motioning for Alex to come lay with her. Alex doesn't bother with the pajamas either, and scoots into bed, wrapping Piper up in her arms.

"I love you she says, placing soft kisses on Pipers neck."

"I love you too." Piper says in a sleepy voice. Alex grabs the sheet, and pulls it over them and shuts out the light. Piper is asleep in a minute and Alex follows soon after.

**Hey, so double update since I drove home 8 hours for Thanksgiving break yesterday, and couldn't post. Sorry about that! Hopefully you liked Chapter 20, and this one. Thanks for your patience with the update! Please review because they're great to wake up to. Thanks for reading!**


	22. Never Too Old For That

Piper wakes up and the light hits her eyes, making her well aware of the headache and slight hangover she has. She groans and pulls the covers over her head.

"Aw, someone has a hangover." Alex says, walking into the room.

"Shh." Is all Piper manages to say. She hears Alex leave the room and then come back a minute later.

Alex pulls up the end of the covers, and slides her way under to Piper

"I brought you some aspirin and a bottle of water."

"Thank you." She says, and takes the pills and washes them down with the water

"Come here." Alex says, and Piper slides over to her and Alex wraps her arms around her. Piper rests her forehead on Alex's shoulder, a wraps a leg around Alex's. Alex rubs her back, and Piper sighs.

"We're too old for clubbing." Piper says in almost a whisper

"Maybe you are…not me."

"Shut up."

"You'll feel better in a little while, just let the aspirin kick in." she says, continuing to rub her back and place a kiss on the top of her head.

Piper drifts off to sleep, and so does Alex, all wrapped up together.

Piper wakes up a few hour later, feeling a lot better. She gets up and takes a shower, which makes her feel even better. She puts on one of the hotel robes and walks out of the bathroom. Alex is still napping.

"I guess last night took it out of her, too. I knew I wasn't the only one too old for clubbing." She thinks to herself laughing, and she pulls the cover over Alex. She finds a pair of underwear and a baggy t-shirt and puts it on, sinking back into the bed with Alex. The movement of the bed wakes her up.

"What time is it?" she asks in a groggy voice

"3 o'clock."

"Shit, we wasted almost a whole day."

"Well let's go do something then." Piper says, getting up from the bed

"Like what?"

"Let's go walk on the beach or something"

"Right now?"

"Well in a little while. I have to dry my hair and find something to wear."

"You're getting dressed up to walk on the beach?" Alex asks, giving her a confused look, even though she should expect an hour of reparation time for anything the blonde does.

"Oh hush." She says back, walking into the bathroom and turning the blow dryer on. Alex gets up and finds a nice sundress to put on, and waits for Piper. Piper comes out in a white dress and a hat half an hour later and they leave the room and head down the dock to the beach.

"It's beautiful here" Piper says, squeezing Alex's hand

"Yeah, it's amazing."

"We should go to the beach all day tomorrow. It's our last day, we have to."

"Are you going to wear that black bikini? The one from Bora Bora…" Alex asks, raising her eyebrows

"I can if you want me to" Piper says, smiling

"Then yes. Let's go to the beach tomorrow. I've got to see that bikini." She says, wrapping her arms around her and kissing the crook of her neck.

They walk back to the dune and Alex sits down, patting the space in between her legs for Piper to sit down. Piper sits and Alex wraps her arms around her. Piper leans back into Alex and closes her eyes.

"This is perfect."

"I know." She says as she is kissing Piper's shoulders.

Piper reaches one of her hands up and turns so she can kiss her. It's soft and slow, the kind of kiss you don't want to pull away from. Piper stops and looks into Alex's eyes, and they just stare into each other for a few seconds.

"I love you." Alex says, lacing her fingers with Piper's and then wrapping around her tighter.

"I love you too."

They sit there for a moment, watching the sun go down on the water.

"Let's go." Piper says when she stands up and turns around, putting her hands out for Alex to grab onto and she pulls her up.

"Where?"

"Back to the room." Piper says, squeezing Alex's hand and pulling it to her lips to kiss the top of her hand.

They walk hand and hand back to the hotel. As soon as the get in the door, Piper turns around from leading Alex into the room and stops, waiting a minute before grabbing her face and pulling her into a deep kiss. She leads her over to the sitting area and tells her to sit.

"Wait here." Piper says quietly, and she turns and goes to the detached bedroom, closing the door behind her.

15 minutes go by and Alex is starting to wonder where the hell her wife is.

A moment later, Piper walks back out in only a baggy t-shirt, and beckons Alex over with her finger. "Come here." She says.

Alex gets up and walks over to Piper who is standing at the bedroom door. She takes a look passed Piper into the bedroom. It's dimly lit, candles are burning on the dresser, night stand, and little lights are strung over the headboard. Rose petals are on the floor and the bed.

"Pipes, this is beautiful. Where did you get all of it?"

"That's a secret." Piper says, wrapping her arms around Alex's neck and kissing her. "Take off your clothes" Piper says, starting to pull at Alex's shirt. Alex slowly gets undressed. She grabs the hem of Piper's shirt, pulls it over her head, and lets it falls to the floor. Piper takes a moment, letting her eyes rake over her wife's body. Piper takes a step forward, placing her fingernails on Alex's stomach, and gently dragging them up and down. She places her other hand on the side of Alex's face and kisses her. Alex presses Piper into the door frame and wraps a leg around her. Alex gets the hint, and slips her hands down to lift her up, so Piper can wrap both of her legs around her and bury her hands in her hair. Alex holds Piper up and keeps her firm against the door frame. Piper needs a breath and pulls away.

"Bed" is all she says before crashing her lips back into Alex.

Alex carries her over to the bed and sits down so Piper is straddling her. She stops and pushes Alex back onto the bed, totally taking control. Usually Alex is the one who does this, but Piper was feeling like comforting Alex tonight since Alex had comforted her this morning when she was hungover.

She places kisses over the dark haired woman's collarbones and unlocks her hands from Alex's to massage her breasts. Alex hums out from the contact, leaning her head back into the bed. Piper keeps leaving open mouth kisses on Alex's neck, and sucking lightly.

"Babe, you're going to give me a hickey." Alex laughs

"That's my plan" Piper says back in a voice that makes Alex's spine tingle, and a heat rush to her core.

Piper moves her right hand off of Alex's breast, and Alex groans at the loss of contact, but the groan is quickly stopped by a hitch in her breath when Piper's free hand makes its way down to the sensitive skin in between Alex's thigh and her mound. Piper traces over it for a minute before moving her attention to kissing on Alex's neck again.

"You're killing me." Alex says in a tired voice, and Piper smiles into her skin.

Alex suddenly feels two fingers open her up and rub up and down her core. "Piper..." She moans out

"Mhmm" Piper says back, continuing her motions, and then dipping her fingers in smoothly.

"Oh my God" Alex says, grabbing onto the hand that is working on her breast, and the other grabbing onto the sheets. She begins to ride Piper's fingers, to make her go deeper. She arches her back, becoming overwhelmed with feelings of pleasure.

"Come for me, Al." Piper whispers into her ear, curling her fingers faster than before. She picks up her pace and uses her palm to hit Alex's most sensitive spot, which causes her to jump a little. Piper can feel her tightening around her, and increasing her grip on Piper's hand.

"I'm so close." Alex breathes out in jagged breaths.

"I've got you. Let go." She whispers

A few moments later, Piper feels her tighten around her fingers, and she shakes uncontrollably, moaning out Piper's name and a string of profanities.

Piper helps her ride out the waves, and then gently removes her fingers, causing Alex to gasp at the loss of contact.

"Holy shit." She breaths, still trying to catch her breath. "That was amazing."

"Yeah" Piper says, feeling a high from the sounds that she made her wife make.

When she finally catches her breath, Alex sits up and turns on her side so that Piper and her are laying face to face.. She kisses Piper deeply, sits up, and pulls Piper up with her, making her get on her knees.

"Your turn." Alex says with a big smile taking over her face, and Piper gives her an excited look.

They make love into the early hours of the morning, and fall asleep tangled up in each other's limbs.

Alex wakes up at 11 and looks around at the mess they made last night. Pillows all over the floor and blankets thrown all around. She smiles, and kisses Piper's forehead. She is still fast asleep, but wakes up.

"Tired?" Alex says

"I may not be able to go out and club all night like we used to, but I can do what we did last night every night. We are never too old for that." Piper says laughing.

Alex laughs and kisses her wife again, and leans back onto the bed, wrapped up with her wife.

**Hopefully you all enjoyed this chapter. I thought they needed a little bit of love and comfort after a wild night out. Usually Alex is the more dominant one in a lot of stories I've read, so I like to switch it up a little and have Piper be the dominant one sometimes. Hopefully you all liked it. The next chapter is their last day in Miami and then back to New York, and back to family life. **Thanks for reading, please keep reviewing, and if you have suggestions please let me know. Thanks again!****


	23. Wrap Your Arms Around Me

Alex gently slaps Piper's thigh that's interlocked with her own

"Babe, get up, we've got to go to the beach."

"You're in such a hurry. 5 more minutes" Piper says, face in the pillow

"Of course I'm in a hurry" Alex says, unlocking this legs and turning on her side to face Piper. "The black bikini…" she says, gently sliding her hands under the cover to drag her finger nails up and down Piper's side.

"You're going to leave marks." Piper moans out

"What? Like the hickey you left me last night?" Alex says, shoving her a little

"I did no such thing" Piper says innocently, turning her head to look at Alex.

"Oh yeah? Then what's this?" she says, pulling her hair off her neck and exposing what was definitely a hickey.

Piper laughs at herself. "Just marking my territory."

"You owe me a black bikini filled day. Now get up!" Alex says trying to pull Piper up.

"Okay, okay. I'm going." Piper says, getting off the bed.

15 minutes later, Piper emerges from the bathroom in a lace black cover up, a sun hat, black sandals, and sunglasses.

"Let's go." Alex says, reaching her hand out for Piper's and then they walk down to the beach.

"Right here is good." Piper says, throwing down a towel and their bag. They unroll their towels, and when Alex looks up her wife's blonde hair is blowing in the ocean breeze, and she is taking off the cover up, exposing that famous black bikini.

"Jesus…" Is all she says, watching Piper

"Like?" Piper says, raising her eyebrows and modeling it a little bit

"Yes. I love it." Alex says, walking over to grip Piper's hips, looking her up and down again.

"Here, rub this in for me." Piper says, handing Alex the sunscreen and turning around.

Alex gently massages in the sunscreen, and makes sure to get every inch, which is driving Piper crazy.

"My turn." Alex says, turning Piper around and handing her the bottle.

Piper does the same, and they lay down on their stomachs right next to each other.

Even though it's March, it's in the 70's and very sunny. Perfect weather for laying out on the beach.

Alex reaches over to Piper's hand and locks their fingers together, running her thumb over her knuckles. Piper looks over at her and smiles.

"I've missed this." Piper says

"What?"

"This. Us. Spending time together, totally uninterrupted time. No work, no baby, just us laying on a beach."

"Yeah I know. It's been so nice. But I miss her. Like a lot."

"Me too." Piper says smiling

There's a moment of silence and then Alex speaks up.

Piper grabs her hands and pulls herself up. Alex takes the lead and starts walking them down to the water.

The water washes over their feet.

"Babe, it's too cold."

"You'll be fine, it's not that cold." Alex lies to her, because in March the water is still a bit chilly.

She turns, and walks backwards, until the water us up to her hips. She pulls Piper to her, so their fronts are pressed up against each other. She runs her fingers through the blonde's hair, pushing it back off of her face. She puts her hands on the side of her face, with her thumbs under Piper's chin, lifting it up towards her. Alex stares for a few moments and kisses her in a strong, but gentle kiss.

Piper places her hands on her waist and rubs her foot up Alex's shin. Alex's hands make their way from her face, down her waist to cup her ass. Piper lifts her thigh a little, and Alex hooks it, lifting Piper up in one quick motion. Piper moves her hands up to Alex's cheeks, and they stand there in the water, kissing.

They forget where they are until a group of teenage boys start whistling and cheering from the shore. Alex smiles into Piper's lips, and Piper looks over at the boys. She rests her forehead on Alex's and then Alex brings her back down. They walk up to the beach, throw on their cover ups, and pack up their stuff before heading to a little beach side restaurant.

They order their food and eat on the outside patio. Alex pays, and they head back to the room. Piper puts on a light sweater and goes to sit on the back patio while Alex takes the time to make sure their flight information and check in is all ready for tomorrow.

The breeze coming off the ocean, the warm air, and the sun setting on the water is perfect. She closes her eyes and sits there for a while. She feels two arms wrap arms her shoulders and place a kiss on her neck. She pats the space in between her legs on the extended chair. Alex sits, and makes herself comfortable, leaning back into Piper. She's so tall that her feet hang off the edge of the chair. Piper drapes her arms over Alex's shoulders, wrapping her in them, and places kiss on the top of her head.

"Hey, we should take Ella to the beach some time." Piper says

Alex turns her head a little and nods. "Yeah, I think she would love it. Maybe like Fourth of July or her birthday. We could rent a beach house or something. It would be fun." She says smiling

"Yeah, we should do it. I'll look into it when we get back."

The two just sit there wrapped up in each other's arms for a while.

"Thank you for coming with me." Alex eventually says, breaking the silence.

Piper smiles and rests her chin on Alex's shoulder and kisses her shoulder.

"Thanks for asking me to come with you."

"I would've been bored here all by myself. I'm glad we got 4 days to ourselves…"

"We should do this more often. Get away."

"Yeah, we should…" Alex says. She kicks her legs to the side of the chair, and stands up. "Wait here..." she says before walking into the room.

Piper waits and Alex eventually comes back in only a towel, holding her hand out for Piper. She leads her to the bathroom.

"Al…" Piper says when she seems the bathtub filled with steaming water and the scent of salts and soaps fills the air. Alex moves the sweater off of Piper's shoulder, and moves her shirt over her head and tosses it aside. She grabs the waistband of her pants and underwear and removes both at the same time. Piper grabs the edge of Alex's towel and gives it a little tug, and it falls to the floor.

Alex grabs Piper's hand and steps in, and Piper steps in in front of her. They sit and Alex wraps Piper in her arms, and Piper settles into her chest. They don't need to say anything, they just sit there, skin on skin, taking each other in. Alex kisses Piper's shoulders, and Piper runs her foot over Alex's leg. Contact. Connection is what they both crave. It isn't always sex, it's being together. Just touching.

"I love you." Alex finally says into Piper's ear, in a whisper.

"I love you, too." She says, turning her head towards Alex.

Alex unlocks their hands and moves one up to Piper's face to hold her cheek so she can kiss her.

Piper eventually pulls away and presses herself into Piper's chest, and Alex regains her hold around Piper.

They sit in the warm water until they finally decide to get up and head to bed. They fall asleep, Piper being Alex's little spoon, and covers wrapped around them.

**A soft chapter, because I don't want to make this all smut. Smut is always good, but it isn't everything. Hopefully not too fluffy for all of you. Next chapter will be back to daily life, and Ella will be back! I've missed writing her interactions with Alex and Piper, so I'm excited for what all is to come. Thanks for reading, and please don't forget to leave a review! **


	24. Back Home

Alex gets up early Tuesday morning. Their flight is at 10, and it will take Piper at least half an hour to get ready, and then another 45 minutes to get to the airport and then rental car returns and security check in things, so she knows she had to get up early to get everything squared away. She makes a pot of coffee and sets it on the nightstand next to Piper.

She picks up all the clothes and makes sure everything is packed up. 7:30 rolls around fast and Alex slips into the covers to wake Piper us. She caresses her skin, "Pipes, you have to get up. WE have to leave by 8:15. It's 7:30." She says, rubbing her hand over Piper's arm.

She lets out a small moan and tries to ignore her wife's voice.

"I have coffee…" Alex says, reaching over to the nightstand and grabbing the mug.

"Fine. I guess I'll get up." She says, rubbing her eyes and then taking the cup.

Alex lets her finish her coffee and then tells her to get ready. They have to leave in like 20 minutes. Piper gets up brushes her teeth and throws on jeans and a sweatshirt…very toned down for Piper's usual clothing choice, but she's tired, so it makes sense.

They get all the luggage to the card, check out, and start the drive to the airport.

"Fucking Miami traffic." Alex says, gripping the steering wheel. Piper reaches over and grabs her thigh, letting her know it'll be okay. Alex smiles over at her.

They make it to the airport, check in their luggage, go through security, and make it to their terminal by 9:30. Alex sits down in one of the chair and Piper sits next to her, leaning her head on her shoulder.

"We'll be home by 2, and then Nicky is bringing Ella home at 5…" Alex says, taking Piper's hand.

"Yeah, I'm ready to see her, and give her lots of kisses." Piper says smiling

"Me too" Alex says back, stroking Piper's hand with her thumb.

Their numbers are called for boarding, and they make their way to the gate and down the hall to the plane. Settling in their seats, Piper calls over one of the flight attendants asking for a blanket and a pillow.

She gets them and wraps herself in it, offering to cover Alex too, but she refuses. She can't sleep on planes. Shortly after take off, Piper is asleep on Alex's shoulder, and Alex is listening to music on her iPod.

A little over two hours later and the plane touches down.

Alex gently rubs Piper's thigh, "Babe, we're here."

Piper sits up, surprised she slept the whole way.

They get up and walk up the hall to the terminal, and follow the signs to baggage claim. They go down the escalator to their carousel and immediately hear "Chapman! Vause!" coming from ahead. They look up and there is Nicky, standing there. Ella is in her arms, and Nicky is waving her hands to get their attention. She makes her way to the bottom of the escalator and Alex immediately scoops Ella out of her arms giving her kisses and hugs. Ella can't contain her excitement. She's squealing and laughing. Alex hands her to Piper who holds her tight, and kisses the top of her head.

"Nicky, we weren't expecting you to bring her by the house until 5."

"Yeah, well I decided to surprise you. So, how was the trip?!"

"Amazing!" Piper says, pushing Ella's hair from her face and making little faces at her.

"She missed you both a lot." Nicky says, tickling her arms.

"Yeah, we missed her too. Was she was good?" Alex asks.

"Yeah, really good. No problems, right kid?"

"We owe you big time Nicky." Piper says

"Don't worry about it. We had fun this last 4 days. We went to the park, and watched movies, and took lots of naps." She says smiling at the little girl

"Did you have a good time with Aunt Nicky?" Alex says kissing her cheeks.

Ella is smiling and laughing the entire time, obviously thrilled to see her mommies again.

"Alright, let's get the bags and head home." Alex says, and they walk over and start collecting them.

Nicky and Alex take care of the luggage and Piper carries Ella.

"You took a cab here?" Alex asks Nicky

"Yeah"

"We'll drive you home."

"Thanks Vause." She says, nudging her arm

They load the car and a half hour later they're at Nicky's place.

"Thanks for keeping her Nicky. Really appreciate it."

"Anytime." She says. "Bye Ella! See ya later." She says before getting out and heading to the front of her apartment building. They make sure she gets in okay before heading back to their place.

"We can bring the bags in later. I just want to take a nap." Alex says.

Piper nods, and they get Ella out of her car seat and head to their apartment. Piper tosses her purse and takes off Ella's jacket and passes her to Alex. They walk back to the bedroom and Alex lays her on the bed before crawling in next to her and Piper crawls in on the other side.  
>Alex plays with Ella's feet, drawing little circles on them, making her laugh.<p>

Piper lays on her side watching Alex and stroking Ella's hand.

Alex looks at Piper and smiles, "I'm glad we're back."

"Me too." Piper says, and they lay back onto the bed, Ella in between them. She eventually falls asleep, and so do Piper and Alex.

Alex wakes up a couple of hours later and smiles at the sight in front of her. Ella is pulled up against Piper, fast asleep, and the blonde has her in a tight hold. Very mama bear looking, but also calm and loving. Piper's blonde hair is splayed across the pillow, and Alex can faintly hear her snoring. Ella sucks in her lips, and moves her hand to her forehead…just like Piper usually does. Alex smiles and lays there for a little bit just watching them.

Her stomach growls and she looks at the time. 6 o'clock. She gets up and orders pizza from the place down the street. A few minutes later Piper comes walking out, Ella on her hip.

"Someone is hungry." She says, handing her over to Alex.

Piper mashes some veggies and fruits and Alex puts Ella in the high chair. Piper feeds her until she is full.

There's a knock at the door. "Pizza's here." Alex says grabbing her money and answering the door. "Keep the change." she tells the delivery man.

"Pipes, I got pizza."

"Yes, I'm starving." She says, reaching for a slice and sitting next to Ella. Alex sits across from her. "So good" she says, taking a bite out of the pizza.

"Was your dinner good, El?" wiping a bit of food off of her face. Ella smiles and moves at the tickle on her cheek. "I'll take that as a yes." She says and smiles.

They finish their pizza and Piper picks up the pizza box and starts putting away the leftovers. Alex walks over to Ella, "Pipes, I'm gonna go and give her a bath."

"Okay, I'll be in in a minute."

Alex picks her up and heads to the bathroom.

Alex fills the tub up a few inches with warm water, and puts Ella in, pouring water over her and rubbing the baby shampoo in her hair.

Piper walks in to see Alex has given their daughter a Mohawk and can't help but laugh when Ella flashes a toothy grin her way and slaps the water, soaking Alex's shirt and face.

"Jesus, now I have to change." She says, wiping the water from her glasses and looking down at her shirt.

"The girl loves her bath time." Piper says, as she sits on the edge of the tub, and rinses the soap out of Ella's hair.

Alex leans her arm over the edge of the tub, letting her fingers just break the surface of the water. "We were gone 4 days and I swear she got bigger."

"Yeah, I think you're right." Piper says, washing Ella's skin with a wash cloth and then looks back at Alex. "Growing like a weed."

"I just want her to stay little forever. Look at those toes. Ugh, and the hands. Can I just stop time for a little bit so she stays this size."

Piper laughs at how cute her wife is, "It's going by fast. Soon she's going to be talking, and then walking, and then before we know it, she'll be like going to school and stuff."

"Don't remind me. I just want her to be a baby for like a few years until I get tired of it, and then she can grow up, but until then no." Alex laughs

"Alex Vause, you are a baby freak. Who would've guessed?" Piper says smiling at the dark haired woman who has her eyes locked on the baby playing in the bathtub.

Alex laughs, "What can I say? She's made me soft."

"Yeah, well I love it." She says, leaning over and placing a kiss on her cheek.

"Alright Monkey, let's go get you some clothes and put you to bed." Alex says, picking Ella up and wrapping her in a towel before walking out and to the nursery.

Piper drains the tub and rinses the soap down the drain, before walking to the nursery. Alex is in the chair, Ella in her lap, reading a bedtime story. Piper pulls up a little chair next to them and rests her head on the side of the chair, reading over Alex's shoulder. By the end of the book, Ella's eyes are starting to have a hard time staying open, and Alex closes the book and hands it to Piper. She gets up and places Ella in the crib.

"She's out." Alex says, and Piper walks over placing a soft kiss on the baby's forehead. Alex gives her a goodnight kiss and shuts the light off and they walk out.

**Okay, so they're back to reality. Hopefully you liked the update. **

**Also, from now on, time is going to start having little jumps, nothing more than a few months, kind of like what I was doing before they went on vacation. To keep the story moving forward and keep it interesting, I think that is the best way to go. Hopefully you all like what is in store. **

**I will try my best to update tomorrow, but it will be Thanksgiving. Hopefully I don't fall into a food coma, and am able to update it by tomorrow night. Thanks for reading, and please don't forget to leave a review, because they're always appreciated! **


	25. Happy Birthday, Ella!

July 10, 2021

Alex wakes up and looks over to see that Piper isn't in bed. She looks at the clock, and sees that it says 9:37. Alex never sleeps in this late. She gets up and brushes her teeth, making her way out to the living room. They're at a beach house that Piper had rented for the week.

"Pipes?" she calls out. Nothing.

"Piper?" she calls down the stairs. Still nothing.

She walks out to the deck. The hot summer air hits her before anything else, and then she hears the unmistakable giggling coming from the pool area. She looks down and sees Piper, spinning in the water holding Ella. She smiles and walks back into the house to put on her swimsuit and heads down to the pool area.

She quietly walks out, not that Piper could hear her over Ella's laughing anyways, and opens the gate to the pool area. She tosses her towel over by Piper's and walks over so that Piper will see her.

"Hey baby!" Piper says when she sees her, pointing her out to Ella. "Look, Mommy's here."

Alex slips into the pool and walks over to Piper and Ella, taking her from her arms. "Happy Birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy Birthday to Ella. Happy Birthday to you!" she sings, giving her lots of kisses and dipping her back so she just barely touches the water before bring her back up.

Alex moves her to her hip and pulls Piper in for a kiss with her free hand.

"1 Year old!" Alex says, looking at Ella, and then at Piper.

Piper just nods, smiling at Ella. "Can you believe it?"

"No! Where did the time go? A second ago she was laying in the bouncer not doing anything, and here we are playing in a pool." Alex asks, and Ella starts slapping the water. "Yeah, I know. You're telling me." Alex playfully says to her.

"So what are we doing today?"

"Well we were going to play in the pool awhile, and make some lunch later, and then Nicky, Red, Lorna, Polly, and Finn were going to be here at 12 for the day and then stay the night, because once the kids are in bed, it's margaritas and adult time. Red is going to take Ella and Finn for the night." Piper says.

Alex smiles, "Sounds good to me. Sound good to you, Birthday Girl?" and Ella responds back with more laughing. "I'll take that as a yes."

They spend another hour in the pool, bouncing Ella around, tossing her in the air, and playing around. Piper gets out first, and Alex passes Ella to her, and then gets out too. Piper dries Ella off and puts a diaper and a t-shirt on her.

"No point in putting real clothes, since she keeps getting things on them." Piper says, while Ella holds onto her hands and takes some steps.

Alex sits on the floor and waits for Ella to get to get. Right before she gets there, Piper lets go of her hands and Alex quickly grabs them so she won't fall. "Babe, she is going to be walking soon. Like really walking. What the hell are we going to do then? We'll never keep up with her." Alex says, standing Ella up on her lap and letting the little girl play with her sunglasses that are resting on top of her head.

"I have no idea. She is gonna be a wild woman." Piper says, running her hand over Ella's blonde hair and walking into the kitchen.

"I baby-proofed everything before she was born, but I'm going to have to like cover the edge of tables and stuff so she doesn't hurt herself."

"Yeah, we'll have to Ella proof it all." She says reaching for a glass. "Al, you want anything?"

"Uh, yeah, I'll take some water. It's so hot out."

"I love it." Piper says, handing Alex a glass of ice water.

There is a sunroom off to the side of the house that has hanging chairs from the ceiling. Alex sits down in one, and puts Ella in her lap, and Piper sits in another, watching them smiling. She loves nothing more than seeing Alex with Ella. The way she is with her makes her melt every time. She's never seen someone so in love. It kills her.

"What?" Alex asks, noticing that Piper is just blankly staring

"Oh nothing. Just thinking about how much has happened in a year. Exactly a year ago she wasn't even here, and look where we are now."

Alex wraps Ella in her arms, and puts her chin on the top of her head.

"I know. It's crazy." Alex says, swaying in the hanging seat. The motion must have made Ella tired, because after a few minutes she is out. Alex eventually gets up lays her down in the playpen so she can rest. Piper goes to the kitchen to start making lunch so it is ready when everybody gets here. A veggie tray, little sandwiches, and things like that are all set out on the kitchen counter when they hear the doorbell ring. Alex goes and answers it and in runs Finn.

"Woah, okay." Alex says, stepping to the side. Polly walks up the stairs a second later, "Sorry about that. He's excited." She says, reaching out to hug Alex. "Nice house." A few minutes later and Nicky, Red, and Lorna show up.

"Hey guys" Piper says giving them all hugs. "There food and drinks and if you need anything else let me know."

"Where's the Birthday Girl?" Nicky asks, looking around.

Piper points to the little girl sleeping in the playpen.

"Can I?" Nicky asks

"Yeah, she's been sleeping for a while. Go for it."

Nicky leans over the pen and gently tickles Ella's belly. Her eyes open and immediately light up at the sight of her aunt Nicky. Nicky picks her up and gives her a kiss. "Girl, you've got to stop growing up. I can't handle it." She says, spinning around a little and making Ella laugh.

"My turn." Red says, holding out her arms for Ella. "Happy Birthday, Ella." She says, putting the baby on her hip and kissing her nose.

"Where's Alex?" Piper asks

"She's with Finn at the pool." Polly says, and Piper smiles.

"Well we can all head down there, let me just put Ella's bathing suit on her and I'll change. If anyone else wants to change, there a bathroom down the hall on the right and then an outdoor shower by the pool.

Piper puts Ella's baby blue suit on her and some floaties, which Ella hates, but they're just in case. Alex is in the pool with Finn when she gets down there. Polly is laying on the chair, Red is under an umbrella in a chair, watching and Nicky and Lorna are snuggled up on a bench built into the wall of the pool.

"That suit is adorable on her." Polly says smiling at Ella and Piper.

Piper walks into the pool, and grabs the floating seat that Ella can sit in and be in the pool at the same time. It is shaped like a car, and has a roof over the top that keeps her from getting burned. She loves it. Piper puts her in it and pushes her around the pool.

They all sit around talking, Finn splashing and having fun, and Ella sitting perfectly content in her floating car.

"So uh, when are we going to get some drinks out here?" Nicky asks

"Well I have all the stuff for margaritas, I can start making them, if you want."

"I can do it." Red says, "Just tell me where everything is and I'll make a batch."

"The stuff is upstairs in the kitchen, the blender is in the cabinet by the sink, and the bag of ice is in the freezer." Piper says

"Okay, I'll be back." Red says, and heads up the stairs to the kitchen.

15 minutes later and Red walks back down with a tray or margaritas.

"Delicious, Red!" Nicky says, taking a sip of hers.

"Real good." Lorna says

"I'll have mine later tonight after the kids go to bed." Piper says, pushing Ella in the water.

"Well I will take one." Polly says, getting up and taking one from the tray.

"Alex, Lorna, there's 3 left."

"I'll take one." Alex says

"Me too." Lorna grabs one off the tray.

"Hell, I'll take another." Nicky says setting her empty glass on the edge of the pool.

They sit around the pool talking and drinking for awhile and eventually Piper realizes she needs to make dinner. Steamed shrimp, rice, and grilled vegetables are made within an hour and everyone sits down to eat.

It's 7:00 and Piper gets the cake out so they can sing Happy Birthday to Ella.

Mid way through the song, Ella smashes her hands into the cake, bringing it up to her mouth, making everyone laugh. They finish the cake and sit out on the deck for a while.

Piper can see Ella is fading. It is way passed her bedtime. Red notices it too and offers to give her a bath and put her down. They all say Happy Birthday, and give their goodnight kisses before Red scoops her up onto her shoulder. Polly makes Finn shower and get into bed at 8:30. He is exhausted anyways, and doesn't complain.

"Margarita's for Mom!" Nicky says, passing Piper a drink.

They all sit in the hot tub, Lorna and Nicky, Piper and Alex, and Polly.

Piper feels her buzz and cuts herself off, knowing she'll want to wake up without a hangover in the morning.

Alex had 3, but her tolerance is so high it doesn't do anything.

Lorna and Nicky are totally wasted, and making everyone laugh. They eventually sneak off to their room, not to be seen until the next morning. Polly is tired from the long drive and heads to bed, leaving Piper and Alex alone.

Alex traces her fingers over Piper's thigh. "So, we're alone."

Piper bites her bottom lip "Yeah, we are." She says before leaning in to give Alex a kiss.

Alex gets up and out of the hot tub, reaching for Piper's hand. "Come on."

Piper quickly gets out and follows her to the gated pool area.

"Al, what are you doing?"

"Skinny dipping…join me." She says, undoing her top and letting it fall to the ground and then ridding herself of her bottoms.

"Al, people are going to see."

"So, let them watch. I don't care." She says before jumping in.

Piper laughs at how typical Alex Vause this whole moment is. She undoes her top and slides off her bottoms, kicking them off to the side before jumping in.

Alex wraps her up and spins her around, placing kisses on her collarbones, and Piper throws her head back laughing.

They kiss under the light from the moon and Alex eventually leads her out of the pool and up to the room.

"Al, we can't have sex on our daughter's birthday. It's weird." Piper says laughing nervously.

Alex laughs and moves off of her. "Yeah, I guess it's a little weird." She lays back on the pillows, "But you so owe me tomorrow. Nobody's birthday is tomorrow." Alex laughs out

Piper laughs at her wife's never ending sexual desire. "You got it. I will owe you tomorrow." She says, laying her head in Alex's lap. Alex runs her fingers through her hair. They sit there in silence for a while, Alex running her fingers through her hair. Piper finally speaks up.

"We made it through the first year." She says smiling up at Alex.

"Yeah we did. Such a good year."

"The best." Piper says

"Definitely the best." Alex says smiling to herself.

**Okay, so Ella is a year old! Time flies, right? Hopefully you all liked the update! Sorry that I cut the smut off, but I promise you will be pleased with the next chapter, if you were upset that it didn't happen this chapter. ;)**

** I managed to wake myself up out of my Thanksgiving Food induced coma, and post this. To everyone reading this, celebrating Thanksgiving, I hope yours was great and that you have lots to be thankful for. I am thankful to all of you reading this and everyone who has favorited, followed, and/or reviewed. Your support means a lot to me, and I am extremely thankful and grateful! Looking forward to whats in store for the characters in the coming chapters, and I hope you like where I'm taking this. Thank you again for reading, and I'll have the next update up tomorrow! :)**


	26. Date Night and Decisions

Before they know it, Ella is up and running. She has a fire to her that never seems to dull. It's December. Piper and Alex have plans of a date night. Nicky agreed to take Ella and bring her back by their place in the morning.

"Ella, get your hat." Piper says, pointing to the knitted hat sitting on the coffee table.

"No." she says, shaking her head.

"Ella." Piper says giving her this look letting her rethink her words.

Ella smiles, showing off that smile that Piper can't help but laugh at every time. She turns around and get the hat and brings it to Piper. Piper puts the hat on her, and calls out in the apartment. "Al, let's go."

"Coming!" Alex says, walking down the hall, boots clicking with each step.

"You look beautiful, Al." Piper says, seeing her wife in those black leggings and boots with her tight fitting coat. Alex smiles at her, and then feels Ella crash into her legs. She picks her up. "Ready to see Aunt Nicky?" she asks, putting Ella on her hip.

"Yeah!" Ella chirps and they walk out the door. Alex carries Ella and Piper carries the overnight bag and her purse. They make it to Nicky's in 10 minutes, and drop Ella off, thanking Nicky again for taking her for the night and kiss Ella goodbye, heading to the curb to hail a cab.

A taxi pulls up and they get in. Alex tells the driver that they're going to an Italian restaurant a few blocks away, and they pull off fro the curb.

Piper snuggles into Alex's side and laces their fingers together.

"We haven't had any alone time since Florida." She says quietly

"I know, babe. It's been forever. But I'm all yours tonight." She says, grabbing Piper's cheek and tilting it up so that she can kiss her.

They pull up and make their way into the restaurant.

"Reservation for Vause, 2 people." Alex says to the hostess.

"Mrs. Vause, right this way." She says, leading them to a private corner lit with candles.

"Wine?" a waiter asks, and Piper and Alex both eagerly agree, filling their glasses and taking a sip.

"Al, this is perfect."

"I had heard really good things about this place, figured we'd try it out."

"The wine is amazing." Piper says, taking another sip.

The waiter comes back out, "Ready to order."

They order and when the waiter leaves, Alex reaches across the table, reaching out for Piper's hand, trailing her thumb over it.

"I missed you." Piper says

"I missed you too. Going away for business isn't the same unless you come with me. I was so bored."

"Well you shouldn't have to for a while, and I'll go with you next time if you do." Piper says, rubbing Alex's foot with her own.

"Yeah, a week by myself was hell. Boring hotel room, and no hot blonde to wake up to every morning." She says, smiling at Piper.

"Well I had a very non spatially aware 17 month old in my bed who kicked me in the side all night long while you were gone." Piper laughs

Alex smiles, "You let her sleep with you?"

"I didn't want to be by myself." Piper sticks out her bottom lip, pretend pouting

"Well I'm not going anywhere for a while, that's for sure. Missed you both too much."

The waiter brings out the food and they start eating.

"So was Ella good while I was gone."

Piper laughs, "That sass she has. I don't know where she gets it. She is a fireball."

Alex scoffs a little, "You don't know where she gets it? Piper. She is so you."

Piper laughs, "Yeah, well, it's hard to be get mad when she flashes that grin which I know she gets from you."

They both laugh, and Alex nods. "Works every time."

They finish their dinner and pay, leaving the restaurant to walk down the street.

"Oh my God, I'm so full." Piper says "It's freezing out here."

Alex grabs her hand and pulls her in close to her to wrap an arm around her, and they walk down the street looking at all the lights and everything.

"Christmas is in 2 weeks. What are we gonna do?"

"Um, I don't know. Maybe have they little group we had over last year. That was fun." Piper says

"Yeah, we can do that. Make it a tradition." She says smiling.

They walk for a while, stopping to get hot chocolate and Piper twirls under one of the street lamps with the snow falling down around her. Alex grabs her and pulls her in for a kiss under the light of the lamp.

After walking for a long time, they realize they are only a couple blocks from their apartment. They cross the street, and walk up the stairs, making it to the stoop. Alex unlocks the door and walks inside.

Piper grabs her hand and spins her around, and for a quick moment she just stares. Before Alex says anything, Piper crashes her lips into hers. "I've wanted to do that all night." Piper breathes out.

"Oh yeah? Well let me show you what I've wanted to do all night."

The front door finally closes, and Alex presses Piper up against it. Piper lets out a gasp. She pushes her coat of and then shakes off her own. Piper kicks off her shoes and unbuttons her jeans so Alex can slide them down. Alex runs her hands up Piper's stomach, and massages her breasts, causing Piper to throw her head back. Alex begins an assault on her neck, kissing and nipping at it. She pulls Piper's shirt over her head, and then quickly unhooking her bra and throwing it behind her. Alex slips her fingers under Piper's lace underwear waistband and pulls them down, trailing kisses down her chest, in between her breasts, down her flat stomach, and then across her hip bones before holding them down steady with her hands.

She looks up at Piper, waiting for permission, and Piper nods. Alex slips Piper's jeans and underwear off of her ankles, and grabs her behind her knee, and brings her leg over her shoulder. Piper grabs the doorknob, and with her other hand, tangles her finger in Alex's hair.

Alex places a kiss on her center, and flattens her tongue, licking from a straight line up. Piper's head it thrown back, and there is a thin film of sweat on her forehead.

Alex laughs at how quick she can send her into a sweating, panting, mess.

"Al—" Piper moans out

"Shh" Alex hums, sending a vibration that make Piper arch her back, and buck into Alex's lips more.

"I'm so close." She cries out

Alex grabs her thigh, so she is stable. "I've got you" she says, and continues her motions, before gently grazing her teeth on Piper's most sensitive spot, making her bow and shake, and dig her foot into Alex's back. She yells out Alex's name, as a powerful orgasm rips through her, sending waves of pleasure throughout her body. Alex helps her down from her high. Alex unhooks her leg, gently placing her back down on the ground, and kisses her way back up to her panting wife, resting her forehead against hers.

"Fuck" is all Piper manages to say

"That bad?" Alex smiles

Piper locks eyes with her. "The worst" and she kisses Alex. Alex takes her hands and turns, leading her to the bedroom. They lay down, and Alex feels something poking her in the side. She sits up and grabs whatever it is that is annoying her.

She laughs and shows Piper the doll that she laid on.

"Ella." Piper says with a smile.

"She's everywhere." Alex says laughing, tossing the doll off the bed and pressing her forehead into Piper's neck. They lay there silent for a few minutes.

"We should do it again." Alex finally says

"What?"

"The whole baby thing. We should do it again."

Piper turns around so she is face to face with Alex. "But Ella is a baby. She's just 17 months old."

"Yeah, I know. And I don't mean right this second, but maybe when she turns two we can try again…"

"Are you sure that is something you want?"

"Of course it is. I don't want Ella to be an only child. I hated being an only child when I was a kid. She should have someone to grow up with."

"Well she has been an easy baby, and if we did it when she was 2, then she would be almost 3 by the time the baby was born. I think we could manage that."

"If you don't want to do it, I understand. It's just something I've been thinking about."

"I'd be willing to go through it all again. The pregnancy, the late nights, and everything. I'd do it all again." Piper says, playing with the ends of Alex's hair.

"You sure?"

"Yeah." Piper says, smiling. "I would love to."

"So when Ella turns 2…"

Piper cuts Alex off "Alex Vause, are you asking me to have your baby again?"

"Only if you want to." Alex says, tucking Piper's hair behind her ear and searching her eyes.

"Yes, I want to. I want to have another baby with you."

"Okay!" Alex says, and she pulls Piper in for a deep kiss. "Let's do it again." And she smiles into Piper's lips.


	27. What Are We Gonna Do?

They decide not to tell anyone about their plan to have another baby until after Piper is already pregnant. No need to get anyone's hopes up if it doesn't happen for them. They decide to go with the same donor, so Alex makes sure she keeps making the payments at the sperm bank to keep their donor reserved. They had said they were going to wait until Ella turned two, but the more Piper though about it, she didn't want to go through the last 2 months of her pregnancy in the heat of the summer like she did with Ella. She remembered how miserable she was. Not to mention they were pretty excited about the whole idea, and wanted to get started.

Piper had gone in for her blood work and physical just to make sure it was all okay, and she got the clear from her OBGYN. They started the IVF at the end of March.

With Ella, it had taken 4 months before it even took, so they were prepared to wait. Alex remembered how hard it was for Piper, having it not work and then how she remembered how hard it was for herself to see Piper go through that, knowing there was nothing she could do.

Alex gets home from work late. A long conference call with a potential buyer kept her on the phone for over an hour, so Piper came home without her since Nicky would be dropping Ella off at 5.

Alex walks in at 8, dropping her bags off at the door, hanging up her coat, and kicking off her shoes.

"Hey baby." Alex says to Piper who is washing dishes.

"Hey love" she says and Alex wraps her in a hug form behind.

"Ella in bed?"

"Yeah, she was pretty tired. Nicky took her to the zoo. Wore her out." Piper points to the microwave. "I put your dinner in the microwave to keep it warm."

"Oh, thanks. I'm going to go change really quick. I'll be right back." She says, turning and walking to the bedroom.

A minute later Alex comes walking out in an old t shirt and a pair of athletic shorts. She takes her food out of the microwave and sits down. "I'm starving." She says, taking a bite of the chicken that's on her plate.

Piper is still washing dishes. "Hey, Al? Can I ask you something?"

Alex stops and looks up. "Uh, yeah, of course."

"Do you have anything going on the week of January 16?"

"Pipes, that's like a long time from now. Why?"

"Well because that's when our baby is due, so I wanted to make sure your schedule was clear." she says, looking over to see Alex's reaction.

She hears what Piper just said and coughs up the water she was drinking. "Jesus, Pipes. What did you just say?"

"I said: That is when our baby is due, so I wanted to make sure your schedule was clear." She finishes her sentence and lets a smiles spread across her face.

Alex gets up and pushes the chair out of the way, wrapping Piper is a hug, "Oh my God. No. You're pregnant?!" Alex says, pushing Piper back so she can look at her face.

Tears are in Piper's eyes as she nods. "Yeah, it worked. First time. I went and did the blood test today. We have an ultrasound appointment in 2 weeks."

"Holy. Okay. Wow. I wasn't expecting it to work the first time. This is great. This is amazing." She cuts herself off, knowing she is totally rambling and just kisses Piper.

Two weeks go by and Piper and Alex go in for the ultrasound. Alex is just as nervous as she was for the first one, when Piper was pregnant with Ella.

The doctor comes in, "Your labs and everything look good, and you're feeling good, right?"

"Yeah, I feel great. A little morning sickness, but nothing too bad." Piper says.

"Great, okay, well we will take a look and you'll get some pictures, and then you can go."

He puts the jelly on Piper's stomach and rolls the probe over Piper's stomach until her finds what he's looking for. He turns on the screen and hits the microphone button.

"There's the baby." She says, smiling at Piper who's eyes are glued to the screen and is sporting the biggest smile he's ever seen.

"Damn it. Every time." Alex laughs, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"So everything looks good?" Piper asks

"Yeah, it's just—there. That's what I thought."

"What?" Alex asks, feeling a bit of panic come over her. Piper grips her hand and stares at the screen harder.

"Is that?" Piper asks quietly, but she already knows the answer.

"Another baby." The doctor says, looking at them both. "It's pretty common with IVF…"

"Fuck." Alex says, sitting on the rolling stool behind her. "Sorry. I didn't mean. It's just—"

"Al, what are we going to do with two babies?" Piper asks letting it sink in

Alex just stares at the screen and then down at Piper, wide eyed and speechless. She shakes her head, "I have no clue." She says

The car ride home is pretty quiet until Piper finally speaks up

"Al, are you okay? You're freaking me out."

"Twins."

"Yeah, I know. It's insane."

"Two of them. Babe, we are going to have 3 kids. That's a lot of kids. Like we're on our way to having a baseball team."

Piper laughs, "Al this is it. We can't have any more than 3 kids. It's insane."

"Shit, where are we going to put them all?" Alex asks, shooting Piper a look

"Well they wont be here for a while, but we are going to have to figure something out. We can turn the office into a nursery."

"How are we gonna tell Ella?"

"Al, she isn't even 2, she's not going to get it. We can tell her, but until they're here, it's not going to mean much of anything."

"Yeah, you're probably right." She says "Wait, holy shit. We are going to have 3 kids under 3 years old."

Piper gets a rush of panic, and then feels Alex grabs her hand.

"We can do it. We can definitely do it. It's going to be hard, and trying, but we can so do this." Alex finally says and Piper feels a little bit of calm come over her.

"Oh no."

"What?" Alex asks nervously

"I am going to get so fat." Piper says, her eyes going wide and looking at Alex.

Alex can't help but laugh at that is what Piper is worried about right now.

**I wasn't going to do a double update tonight, but I got a Guest review that went perfectly along with what I had already written, and I couldn't help but post it. So whoever suggested Piper should have twins this time around, good guess, since I had already written it into the story. So happy double update! I hope you all liked it, and like the direction this story is going. :)**


	28. They Know

They couldn't keep their secret very long. Summer in New York gets hot, and Piper was able to get away with nobody noticing until she was 12 weeks pregnant and hanging out with Polly at the park. She was wearing a loose fitting top and jeans, which she was hiding the maternity waistband as much as she could, but it wasn't hidden enough from Polly.

"So, when are you gonna tell me?"

"Tell you what?" Piper says, watching Ella play in the sandbox, and half listening to Polly

"That you're pregnant."

"What? Wait, how did you—"

"Jesus Pipes, I've known you for a long time. Your boobs are huge, and that maternity strap on your pants shows whenever you pick Ella up."

Piper laughs, "I was going to tell you next week, over dinner or something."

Polly squeals with excitement, and stomps her feet on the ground quickly. "When are you due?!"

"January. January 16th."

Polly counts it out on her finger, "So you're what? 3 months?"

"Yeah"

"I didn't even know you guys were trying. God, you leave me out of everything." She says sarcastically

"Want me to let you in on a little secret?" Piper says smiling at her best friend.

"Yes, of course! I live for secrets."

Piper laughs, "Okay, but you can't say anything to anyone, because you're the only one who knows that I'm even pregnant."

"Okay, fine, whatever. Spill it!"

Piper takes a second, "Twins." Is all she says

Polly's eyes go wide, "No way! You're joking."

"Serious. 100% serious."

"Jesus Christ, Piper. Ella just turned 2. You're going to have a toddler and 2 babies. What did Alex say?"

"She was obviously shocked at first. So was I. But we think we can do it. I mean, we're going to have to learn how to do it." She says, putting her hand on her stomach

"Well if anyone can do it, it's you two. And you have me and Nicky and Red." Polly says taking Piper's hand.

"Well now you know everything." Piper says smiling. She pauses for a moment. "Now my boobs don't look that big do they?" she asks in a serious voice, and Polly laughs.

The next week, Nicky and Red drop Ella off at the house and Alex tells them to stay for dinner.

Nicky puts Ella on her lap as she sits on the couch and Red drinks a glass of wine.

They sit down for dinner.

"Piper you want some?" Red asks, while pouring another glass of wine.

Alex looks over at her. Piper never turns down a glass of wine. "This is it…" she thinks to herself

"Thanks, but I'm good. Not really in the mood for wine." Red gives her a look and pours a glass for herself. "Anyone else?"

"I'll take one." Alex speaks up, giving Piper a "That was close" look

They eat dinner and Alex looks over at Ella who has gotten spaghetti sauce all down the front of her shirt. "Girl, you're making a mess." She says, getting up and taking her out of her high chair. "Nick, can you wipe this off while I go put a clean shirt on her?"

"Yeah" Nicky says, and grabs some disinfectant wipes.

Alex comes back a few minutes later.  
>"Look at this shirt that Piper got Ella the other day. Isn't it the cutest?" She asks, turning Ella so they can read the writing on the front of the shirt.<p>

"Big Sister" they both read out.

"Not uh, are you for real?!" Nicky yells first

Red is smiling, "Seriously?"

Piper and Alex nod.

"How many months?" Red asks

"Three" Piper says, going into the kitchen drawer and pulling out the latest sonogram pictures and hands one to each of them. Alex and Nicky stare at it for a second before Red looks up quickly.

"No." she says.

Piper laughs, "Yes."

"Oh my God." She says, getting up and hugging Piper.

"Am I missing something. This is just a bunch of gray. I'm not following. Also, why is there an A and a B on this picture?" She asks, giving them all a confused look.

Alex laughs, "Jesus Nichols. Baby A and Baby B." Alex says, pointing to each of them.

Nicky's jaw drops, "Cover her ears." Se says to Alex, and so Alex does.

"No fucking way. You've got to be shitting me. Twins?!" she says loudly.

Piper and Alex laugh, "Yeah, it's real. We were as surprised as you are."

"Well I'm happy for you both. Very exciting." Red says, walking over and hugging Alex.

"Aw, I'm gonna get two more babies to lose my shit over." Nicky says. "Lorna is going to freak out. Let me tell you." Nicky says smiling.

"Want to watch the sonogram video?"

"Yes!" Nicky and Red both say.

After they leave, and dishes are done, and Ella is put to bed, Alex and Piper crawl into bed. Piper lays down with her head in Alex's lap, tracing little shapes on her thigh with her fingernail. "I'm glad everyone knows. No more secret and trying to hide that stupid maternity band." Piper laughs.

"Me too. It feels like more real now that people, besides us, know."

Piper rolls onto her back and lifts up her shirt, exposing her very present growing baby bump. "As if me gaining all this weight wasn't real enough?" She says, rubbing over her belly.

Alex leans over and places 2 kisses on her stomach and then one on Piper's lips. "I love the baby bump. It's cute." She says smiling

"Well, yeah, I guess it is pretty cute." Piper says

"Do you want to find out the sex this time?" Alex asks

"I kind of like the whole surprise last time. And there's two of them, so it's double the surprise."

"Yeah, you're right. We'll wait."

"Well what about names?"

"Well we have to pick 2 for each gender. So there a lot of possibilities."

They toss around names for a while, and eventually write down four that they think are right.

"So these 4 are the ones you're sure you want to go with?" Alex asks Piper.

"Yeah, I'm sure." She says smiling.

"Alright, I'm putting them on the nightstand." she says, tucking the named int the corner of a picture on the end table. She lays there, and Piper is still laying in her lap, nervously picking away at her fingernails.

"Al, are you nervous?"

"About the babies?"

"Yeah…"

"Um, yeah, of course I am. It's a lot of responsibility. Like there's going to be two more people I have to look out for and worry about all the time. But I'm so excited that it outweighs the fear and anything else."

Piper nods.

"Are you nervous?" Alex asks, sitting up and pulling Piper up so she can look her in the eyes.

"Yes. So nervous. And I've been through it before, and I'm nervous. What if we can't handle two babies. What is something goes wrong, because Al, anything can go wrong." She says, her voice getting shaky and her eyes welling up with tears.

Alex wraps her up tighter and pulls her in close. Piper puts her head on her chest, turning into her. "Hey, don't worry about any of that. Yeah, things can go wrong, I'm not going to say they can't, because that's bullshit. But I'm here, 100%, and I'm not going anywhere. I'll be here the whole time, and we will be fine. Okay? So don't cry…" she wipes the tears from her wife's face, "Piper Chapman, I love you so much, and I love Ella, and I love these babies, and they aren't even here. Yes, I'm scared because it's scary, but I know that we'll be okay and that I wouldn't want to do this with anyone else, but you. I love you so much." Alex says, tears falling down her cheeks, hugging Piper so tight.

They sit there, and Alex finally loosens her grip, allowing Piper to look up at her. Alex tucks a strand of that blonde hair that drives her crazy behind Piper's ear, and kisses her lips with so much love. "Okay?" Alex asks, and Piper nods. "Yeah, I'm okay."

"Good." Alex says and she lets Piper turn onto her side and she wraps her arms around her, breathing in her scent, and they fall asleep.

**So I have to update this morning instead of tonight because I'm heading to work here in a bit, and then I'm out for one more night before heading back to college in the morning. Thanks for the reviews on the last two chapters. Reviews are great because they keep the motivation for writing going, so please continue. They're great to read. Hopefully you all liked this chapter. My favorite scenes to write are definitely Alex and Piper comfort scenes, because they feel more real than anything else. Maybe it's just me. Anyways, hope you liked it and I will try and update tomorrow after I get back to school! Thanks for reading! :)**


	29. A Weekend In The Woods

Piper's brother, Cal called her a few days ago and asked if her, Alex, and Ella wanted to come out to his place for the weekend and see Neri and their little boy, Jack.

So Saturday morning, Alex packs the car and loads Ella and Piper in, and they head out to the woods.

Cal was always kind of the oddball growing up, but Piper and him were close, even though she hadn't talked to her parents in 4 years, since she married Alex.

A 2 hour drive later and they pull up to a little cabin in the woods. When Piper and Alex were in prison, he had moved out here and then her met Neri, married her, and a little over a year ago, they had their little boy, Jack who Piper hadn't seen very much of.

"Piper!" Cal yells, and meets her at the passenger door. He gives her a hug, "It's good to see you."

"It's good to see you too, Cal."

Alex gets out, "Hey, Cal. Gorgeous out here." She says and she gets Ella out of her car seat.

"There's my niece. Gotten so big." He say, smiling and waving at her.

"Where Jack and Neri?"

"Well Neri is actually gone for the weekend. Some welding thing she had to race off to, so it's just Jack and I."

"Oh, alright, well that's okay." Piper says

"Let me get your stuff, just head on in. Jack is in the playpen in the living room."

Cal had gone from the trailer in the woods to an actual cabin, because they needed more space for Jack. This was so much nicer than the trailer.

Piper walks in, Ella trailing right behind her, holding on by her pant leg. Alex and Cal follow in a minute later, bags in tow.

"So this is it." Cal says, his voice echoing through the house.

"Cal, it's beautiful."

"Thanks." She says smiling "Oh" he says, walking into the sitting area in front of them and leans over the playpen, picking up a curly haired blonde boy.

"Oh my God, he's gotten so big." Piper says, reaching out for him. "Hey Jack." She says. "Cal he look just like you, except for the curly hair."

"Yeah, he must've gotten that from Neri's side of the family.

"Gosh, the last time I saw him was like right after he was born, so what, 11 months?" She says, playing with the little boy. Alex picks Piper up and lets her check Jack out. "El, that's Jack. He's your little cousin."

"Cousin?" she asks back curiously

"Uncle Cal's baby."

"Oh" she says, and then rests her head on Alex's shoulder.

"Alex, can I get you something to drink? Pipes?"

"I'll take a water." Piper says

"Yeah, a water is fine for me, too." She says, and Cal pours two glasses

Alex goes and sits on the couch, letting Ella and Jack play on the floor. Piper and Cal sit at the breakfast bar talking and catching up.

"So how have you been?" Cal asks

"Good. Obviously pregnant, and feeling like a whale, but good. What about you?"

"Pretty good. Neri works a lot, and I take care of Jack, so it works."

Piper asks the question that is looming over the both of them, "So have you heard from them lately?"

"Yeah. Saw them a few weeks ago…"

"Do they ask about me?"

"Yes. Pipes, of course they ask about you."

"Well what do you tell them when they ask?"

"Well this time I told them that you and Alex were having twins."

"And?"

"They were surprised. Piper, you know they miss you, right?"

"They have no right to miss me. They didn't come to my wedding because they couldn't put their feelings aside for two seconds, and be there for me. And they never once reached out to me about Ella. And now with the twins. So, I'm sure they miss me, but it doesn't change anything."

Cal nods. He knows how much his parents hurt Piper when she got married. He hated what they did, but he forgave them because he still wanted a relationship with them, and for his son to know his grandparents.

"Do you think you'll ever talk to them again?"

"Honestly Cal, I have no idea. Yeah, it sucks that they're not in my life and not in my kid's lives, but they made that decision. It's up to them to fix it. I still have you, and I have Nicky, Red, and Polly for family."

"Yeah, I know."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap it's just. It's hard and all. It really sucks sometimes, but it is what it is."

"Well I'm here, and like you said, you have others." He grabs her hand.

"So, are you guys excited? Twins, that's a big deal."

"Yeah, we are really excited. Al did up the nursery and we've got about 4 months left, so we are pretty excited." Piper says smiling

"Well I'm excited for you. It's great."

"Yeah, it is."

"So, let me take your bags back and I'll show you where you're staying.

He leads her back to a room with a large rustic looking bedframe and very cabin looking design. Flannel, solid oak furniture, and a big fur throw rug.

"Cal, this is incredible." Piper says, pulling back the curtains, and looking out the window that overlooks the lake they're on.

"There's a private bathroom." He points to the door to the side of the room. "Either Ella can sleep in here with you or in the room next door."

"Oh, we'll just keep her in here, it'll be easier."

"Okay, sounds good." He says. "So, how about steak for dinner sound good? I can put them on the grill in a few minutes, and the kids can have mac and cheese."

"Ooh, sounds good. Yeah, Ella loves that."

"Awesome, so I'll go get that started." He says, and turns to leave "Pipes?"

"Yeah Cal?"

"I'm glad you're all here." He says smiling

"Me too, Cal." And he turns and leaves

Piper unpacks something before she hears Alex coming down the hall.

"Pipes?"

"Down here, last door on the right."

Alex walks in , "Wow, this is gorgeous."

"Yeah, and the view is amazing."

Piper hears the door close and the lock turn.

"Al, what are you doing?" she says, as two arms wrap around her.

"Oh nothing."

"We can't. He's gonna know. And who's watching Ella?"

"They're in the backyard. She's on the swing set and Cal is watching her." she says, kissing up Piper's neck, sending a tingle through Piper's spines.

She inhales deeply as Alex nips at her neck. "Al, we're in my brother's house. It's weird."

"No it's not. It's hot. Come on, I'll be quick." She says, reaching up and massaging Piper's breasts, causing her to moan out.

"Al…"

"Shh." She says unbuttoning Piper's pants from behind her and sliding them down.

"Please, I need you." Piper pants out as Alex traces her fingers up the inside of Piper's thigh.

Alex moves in front of her and pushes her so she is up against the foot of the bed. "Sit."

Piper sits, and Alex grabs her jeans, pulling them off completely. She grabs the hem of Pipers shirt and brings it over her head, throwing it behind them. She kisses her and quickly takes off Piper's bra, which is the only thing left before she has nothing on, anymore.

She kisses her jawline, and Piper runs her fingers through Alex's hair, pulling at is a little when Alex bites her lip.

Alex kisses lower, between her breasts, and over her growing stomach. Piper is thankful that Alex has never been afraid of the belly, because some people can't get passed it. It never bothered Alex.

She scoots her closer to the foot of the bed and leans Piper back, and then kneels on floor in between her knees that are just dangling off the edge. She grabs her calves and places the over her shoulders, and kisses the inside of her thighs.

"Al, please…"

"Just wait." Alex says

"I can't w–" Piper barely gets out as Alex gently swipes her tongue up her center, causing her to lift her hips a little. Alex quickly puts her hands on her hips to keep her from moving.

Alex is slow with her movements, agonizingly slow, and Piper can't take it.

"Fuck, Alex."

"Want me to stop?"

Piper opens her eyes, "No!"

"Then hush."

Alex sucks and flicks her tongue in a way that drives Piper crazy. She places two fingers are her opening, and teases for a second before thrusting in and curling.

"Fuck" Piper moans out

Alex smiles at her wife.

She continue her movements, slow and steady, and then increases her speed because she doesn't want Cal to get to curious and interrupt them.

"Oh God Al, I'm so close."

"I've got you."

"Alex" Piper pants out and Alex roughly nips at her sensitive bundle of nerves, sending Piper into a shaking and panting mess, moaning out Alex's name.

Alex licks up the mess she's made, and unhooks her wife's legs form her shoulders. Bringing her face up to Piper's and letting her taste herself on her lips.

"Oh my God, Al." she says

"Yeah, I know."

Piper slaps her shoulder a little, "Cocky bitch."

"Yeah, I am." She says, smiling and pulling Piper into a kiss. "Now get dressed before Cal gets suspicious."

Piper puts back on her clothes with Alex's help, and they head outside.

"Steaks are ready. Alex, can you get Jack?"

"Yeah" and she goes over, picking the little boy up out of the seat and Ella follows her into the house.

They enjoy their meal and after the kids go to bed, they sit around the fireplace talking and catching up, while Cal and Alex sip on scotch.

The next day is spent sleeping in and then going on a hike through the woods that Cal lives in. They get back and Alex packs up the car.

"Cal, thanks for having us out here. It was amazing."

"Yeah, thanks for coming. It was good to see you guys. Bye Ella." He says waving.

"Maybe you can come see us in the city some time." Piper says

"That would be great." He says. He gives Piper and Alex hugs, "Drive safe. Let me know when you get home."

"Bye!" they yell, pulling out of the driveway and heading down the road back home.

"God, we packed a lot of stuff. It's so crowded in her." Alex says, moving something off the center consule, and putting it on the passenger floorboard.

"Well it isn't a very big car, Al. It's a BMW, not much room."

"Don't knock the BMW." Alex says jokingly.

"I'm just saying that with the twins coming, maybe we should look at getting a new car. A bigger car."

"What like a minivan?" Alex says, laughing at the fact she even said it.

"Maybe." Piper says.

"Oh God no. I will not be caught driving a minivan. How domestic do you think I am?" she says

"Domestic enough to have a wife, a toddler, and twins on the way, taking family weekend trips to see your brother in law."

"Alright, you got me." Alex says laughing. "I'll look into a new car, but no way in hell we are getting a minivan."

A week later Alex calls Piper from the street. "Hey, come look outside."

Piper walks outside and sees Alex standing in front of a brand new Audi Q7.

"You like?" Alex says, showing off the new car.

"Well it's no minivan." Piper says smiling. "Al, it's gorgeous."

"Yeah, 3 rows of seats, plenty of room for kids, and looks good." She says.

"You weren't digging the whole minivan idea?"

"Hell no. This is so much better."

"You're ridiculous. I love it." Piper says, kissing Piper. "Show me how it drives."

"Alright, hop in." Alex says, opening the passenger door, and going on starting the car and pulling off from the curb."

**Sorry it's a little late. Just got back to my dorm room a few hours ago after 9 hours of driving to get here, and then school work, before I could finish the chapter. Hope you all liked the update. Thank you for all the reviews, they mean a lot. Please review, and I will update tomorrow! Goodnight! :)**


	30. A Little Bit Longer

By 36 weeks, Piper was pretty big, definitely bigger than she was when she delivered Ella, and she still had 4 weeks to go.

She calls in and tells Polly she can't come in. Alex asks if she wants her to stay home with her, but Alex tells her it's okay, so Alex kisses her goodbye and takes Ella to Nicky's before going into work.

"Not feeling good?" Polly asks when she sees Alex walk in the front door.

"No, her back is killing her. Thanks for letting her take the day, Polly."

"Of course, it's totally okay. We agreed on 10 weeks of maternity leave this time and please take as much time as you need. You can work from home whenever and it'll be fine. Two babies is a lot. Hell, one is a lot. Take whatever you need. I can definitely manage here. I'm was going to let her know today that she can go ahead and start her maternity leave after today. I know she is miserable, and can't stand around the shop all day. She needs all the rest she can get. You can let her know tonight."

Alex smiles at her.

They've come a long way since the days of "Holly" and "Supercunt".

"Thanks Pol, it means a lot." She says, giving her a hug.

Piper decides to go and take a warm bath, knowing it'll help her relax. She soaks in the tub for a while, letting it soothe her aching muscles. She gets out and lays back down on the bed and closes her eyes, taking a little nap.

A while later she hears the jingling of the doorknob, and hears the door open. Footsteps come down the hall and Alex walks into the room.

"Feeling any better?"

"Yeah, I took a bath, and I've just been laying here."

"I brought soup and salad."

"Mmm, that sounds good." Piper says, slowly sitting up

Alex takes it out of the takeout bag and passes Piper her food. They eat in bed, which is something they usually don't do, but Piper is in no mood to get up. Alex takes the trash out to the trashcan in the kitchen, and changes into sweatpants and an old tshirt from a concert she went to years ago. She lays down next to Piper and rubs her back for her, like she did when she was pregnant with Ella.

This pregnancy has been harder. Piper is older, and it's 2 babies she's carrying. Plus taking care of a 2 year old on top of all of it takes it out of her.

The doctor told her to take it easy, but Piper is stubborn and won't back down.

Alex doesn't know how Piper can do 4 more weeks of this.

Alex continues rubbing her back until Piper's snoring is all she hears. She gets up and decided to clean up a bit, not like there's any point really, because Ella would be hope in a few hours to wreck it all again. She does the dishes and starts some laundry, then going back to lay on the bed and read a book.

For a while, she dozes off only to be woken by Nicky opening the front door and Ella running in. Alex gets up and walks out to the living room where her leg is immediately wrapped up by Ella.

"Hey Monkey." She says, picking her up and giving her a hug and a kiss.

"Was she good today?" Alex asks

"Yeah, no problems." Nicky says. "Chapman sleeping?"

"Yeah, not feeling so good." Alex says, putting Ella down on the couch and handing her the TV remote

"Poor girl. I know she is hating it right now, but not much longer. Is there anything you guys need? I can go pick some things up."

"You want to see what all we have?" Alex asks. Nicky nods and she leads her to what used to be the office but is now a second nursery.

"Looks good." Nicky smiles.

2 cribs, a changing table, a dresser, a rocking chair, well actually the one from Ella's room since she doesn't really use it anymore, and everything else they need.

"Yeah, we prepared pretty good this time." Alex says, turning and shutting out the lights.

"I can see. Okay, well I'm gonna head out. Let me know if you think of anything else, and I'll go and get it. Phone call away." She says, waving goodbye to Ella and walking out the front door.

"Mac and cheese?" Alex asks Ella, and Ella eagerly nods.

Alex makes her food and puts her in her chair, sitting with her while she eats.

She's just like Piper, making noises when she eats.

Her blonde hair is pretty long now, and goes up into a little ponytail. Those green eyes are always sparkling. And that fire that never burns out.

"Done?" Alex asks her

"Yep!"

"Alright" she says, wiping her face and lifting her out of the chair.

"Where's mommy?" Ella asks

"Sleeping. She's tired." Alex tells her, washing the dishes that are leftover.

"Oh, okay."

"We can go see her in a minute."

Alex finishes the dishes and walks back to the bedroom, and gently runs her fingers across Piper's arm.  
>"Pipes?"<p>

Piper opens her eyes a little, "Yeah?" she asks

"Ella's home. She wants to see you…"

"Oh, okay." She says, sitting up slowly

"Come on, El" Alex says and Ella comes running in. Alex picks her up and puts her on the bed next to Piper

"Did you have a good day?" Piper asks, tucking some hair behind her ear

"Yeah, we went to the park." Ella says smiling

"You did?" Piper asks smiling.

Alex watches, even though Piper is so tired, she still has time and energy for Ella.

Ella lays one of her hands on Piper's stomach. "Baby" she says, looking at her hand and then into Piper's eyes.

"Yeah, babies." Piper nods. She takes her hand and moves it over. "One here." She slide her hand over again. "And one here." she says to her smiling

Alex smiles at Piper and Ella leans over and kisses her belly.

"When will they be here?" Ella asks seriously

"Soon." Alex says "Very soon."

"Okay." Ella says and then focuses her attention on something else.

"Alright, let's go get in the bath and get ready for bed." Alex says, picking Ella up and carrying her to the bathroom.

After her bath, Alex brings Ella by the bed and tells her to give Piper a kiss and a hug.

"Night sweet girl" Piper says, stroking her wet hair back and kisses her cheek.

Alex grabs her and comes back 20 minutes later and lays down on her side facing Piper.

"Feeling any better?" Alex asks.

"A little. My back is feeling a little better." She says with a small smile

"Aw, Pipes. I wish I could help."

"You are. Taking care of Ella and spending the day with me. Trust me, you're helping."

"When is your next appointment?"

"Uh…" Piper grabs her phone from beside her and checks the calendar "January 4, so 2 days." Piper says. "Are you coming?"

"Can't. I have a meeting. How are you getting there?"

"Nicky or Red can drive me." She says. "God, they won't stop moving. Doing somersaults in there." She says, putting a hand on her very large belly.

"Yeah?" Alex asks, putting her hand next to Piper's. "Jesus, they're really moving." She smiles

"Getting a little crowded in there." Piper says, trying to move to make herself more comfortable. "Just a few more weeks." She sighs

"You can do it." Alex says, kissing her and rubbing her hand over her belly, feeling all the movement under her palm.

**So, the twins are fast approaching. I'm glad you liked the last update, and hopefully you liked this one too. The reviews I got on the last chapter were great, so please keep them coming! Thanks for taking the time to read this story, and review, because it means a lot. Hope you all keep following, and like what's in store for these two. Thanks, again! :) ****  
><strong>


	31. Ready or Not

"Thanks for driving me, Nicky." Piper says, sitting in the passenger seat.

"It's no problem. Red can get a little alone time with Ella, so it works out fine."

They get to the waiting room and sit there for a while.

A short blonde nurse walks out, "Chapman. Piper Chapman."

Piper stand up and turns to Nicky. "You want to come?"

"Uh, do you want me to?"

"I always get a little nervous. Come with me. Usually Al is here, plus you can see what all is happening."

"Fine, I'll go" she says, getting up and following them down the hall into an exam room.

Piper lays back on the inclined table and her and Nicky talk for a bit before the doctor comes in.

"Hey Piper. How are you?"

"Good. Tired. Feeling huge. Um, this is a good friend of mine, Nicky."

"Nice to meet you Nicky." He says, shaking her hand. "Alright, so let's take a look and see what all is going on. 37 weeks, getting down to the wire." He says, putting the cold jelly on Piper's stomach and taking the probe to roll across her mountain of a belly.

Nicky had seen the videos, but she had never been to an actual appointment, "Woah, that is the weird thing I've ever seen." She says, watching the screen and seeing two very clearly visible babies.

"So that's baby A. Good position and weight and everything." He moves the probe over and pauses, typing something into the keyboard and staring at the screen for a minute.

"Is something wrong?" Piper asks nervously.

"It's just, Baby B has turned and is breach, so it's upside down, which can be dangerous. And because of your age and the fact that there's two in there, I'm going to recommend that we schedule a C section."

"Surgery?" Nicky asks, getting nervous and wishing Alex was here, instead her.

"Well yes. It's fairly low risk, and since they're twins, 37 weeks is okay for delivery."

"Wait a second. You want to do it today?" Piper feels a rush of panic.

"Yes. There's a risk of the baby's umbilical cord getting wrapped around its neck, and that could be fatal." He says "But if we go ahead and do the C-section today, they should be fine and healthy and you'll get to go home in a few days." He says, reassuring Piper

"Um, Nicky, I need you to get my phone and hand it to me."

Nicky hands her the phone, shaking like a leaf.

"Can you keep Ella? I know this is so last minute, but can you?

"Chapman, don't worry about it. Of course I will. I'll swing by your place and pick up some clothes and stuff for her."

"Thank you so much, Nicky." Piper says, finally dialing Alex's number

"Pipes?"

"Hey, Al. So I'm at the doctors and don't freak out but—"

"What? Are you okay? What happened?"

"Al, calm down. I'm fine. The doctor wants to schedule a C-section…"

"When?"

"Today. In a few hours. So, I need you to come to the hospital because it's all happening."

"Jesus Christ." Piper hears Alex yell something to Polly and things shuffling in the background. "I'll be there in less than an hour." And the line goes dead.

"I'll stay until she gets here." Nicky says, and Piper smiles at her, holding her hand.

"So, we are going to take you to labor and delivery and get you all prepped and in a few hours you'll have your babies." The doctor says, smiling and leaving.

Piper is taken to the labor and delivery floor and gets into a gown and gets her IVs started.

Al comes walking in a sweating mess carrying Piper's hospital bag and everything she could think of. "Pipes. I can't believe this is happening right now." She says, shuffling over to her and giving her a kiss.

"I know. It's crazy." Piper says laughing

"Thanks for staying, Nicky. We owe you so much, again." And she gives her a big hug.

"Don't sweat it. I'm gonna head to your place and get Ella's stuff. Keep me updated. Good luck Chapman!" She says, giving her a kiss on the cheek and heading out.

"Are you scared? Do you need anything?" Alex asks, throwing her coat into the chair behind her.

"Al, I'm fine. Really. I'm good. What about you?"

"Well I was freaking out a little. I told Polly what was happening and sped to the apartment, picked up your stuff and got here as fast as I could." She says, pulling her hair back into a pony tail. "When did they say that they would take you up?"

"3:30" Piper says, looking at the clock on the wall

"Jesus, that's in like 20 minutes."

"Yeah, they had an opening. So you just made it."

A minute later the doctor walks in. "You ready to have these babies?"

"Yes!" Piper says excitedly, and they wheel her off to an Operating Room for the C-section.

"So Alex, you'll have to wait here until we get her prepped and then I'll send someone out to get you."

"But I want to go with her."

"It'll be 15 minutes tops. Here, take these and change into them." A nurse says, handing Alex a pair of scrubs and a hair net.

"Al, I'll be okay. See you in a few minutes."

"Okay. I love you. I'll be right there." Alex says, hugging and kissing Piper.

She finds a restroom and pulls on her scrubs, tossing her regular clothes in a bag they gave her, and she puts her hair into the net. She stands with her hands on the edge of the sink.

"Holy shit. I can't believe this is happening right now." She says, turning on the water and splashing some on her face.

She goes into the hall and checks her phone. "Any minute now." She says to herself. She texts Nicky, letting her know that she was about to go in, and makes sure her camera is all ready.

"Alex?"

Alex perks up and looks to see who's calling her. A nurse is standing at the double doors Piper had gone in through. "You can come back now."

Alex practically sprints over them and into the OR.

Piper is on the table with a drape in front of her face, IVs everywhere, lots of people. Alex sits on a stool next to her head. "Pipes, I'm here." she says, taking her hand and putting the other on top of her head.

"Hey, can you believe this? It's like a military operation or something. Super fast stuff." She says laughing

"How are you so calm right now?" Alex asks, stroking her forehead.

"I get to see our babies here in a minute. I can't wait." She smiles at Alex and Alex kisses her.

"Okay, so I'm going to start now." The doctor says

A couple of minutes later, Piper's face scrunches up. "Ouch." Piper says

"Are you okay? Can you feel anything?"

"I feel pressure. Like it's just a lot of pulling and stuff." She says

"But you're okay?"

"I'll be fine." She says, smiling, reassuring Alex that she's okay.

Alex peeks over the drape a little but quickly redirects her vision to Piper.

"Okay, in a minute, Baby A will be out."

Piper and Alex just stare at each other. Suddenly crying fills the room and Piper and Alex's eyes both fill with tears.

"Baby A is a boy." The doctor says, leaning the screaming baby over the drape so that they can see him.

"Oh my god, Al. It's a boy." Piper says, and Alex wipes the tears from her eyes.

Piper feels a lot of pressure and then more crying is heard.

"And Baby B is a girl." He says, holding the baby over the drape so they can see this one, too. Alex kisses Piper's forehead and then squeezes her hand.

"Go see them, Al." Piper says and Alex kisses her again and gets up to see their babies. They're getting cleaned up and weighed. Alex takes pictures.

"They're so little." She says, watching them.

"The boy is…6 pounds 13 ounces" the nurse says, "And the girl is, 6 pounds 4 ounces."

"Wow, they're okay though? Right?" Alex asks

"Yeah, they're perfectly healthy. Just little, which is typical for twins."

She wraps the boy in a blue blanket and hat and hands her to Alex.

"Hey little man." She says, smiling and kissing him.

"I can take a picture." The nurse says, and Alex nods, passing her the camera and posing with the new baby. Alex turns and walks back over to Piper with the little boy. "Pipes, look." Alex says and Piper really looks at her son for the first time. "He's beautiful." She says, and she kisses his cheek. The nurse walks over with a pink bundle and holds her down next to Piper.

Piper and Alex laugh through the tears, and Piper gives their new little girl a kiss, too.

The doctor cleans Piper up and closes, and she is wheeled to recovery while their babies are taken to the nursery for a while.

**Okay, so someone asked that I do a double update today, and since I've had a really good day today, you're in luck. Double update it is. I hope you all are glad the wait is finally over! They're here, and yes they finally got a little boy. Names will be revealed in the next chapter, which I should be able to post tomorrow. Hopefully you all liked it, and please leave a review because I love reading them! Thanks for reading! :)**


	32. So It Begins

There's a knock on the door

"Come in" Alex says, and two nurses come in, wheeling the babies in two little carts. One of the nurses hands Piper the boy and Alex picks up the girl.

"You want us to take some pictures?" one of the nurses asks

"That would be great." Piper says, and they pose for a few pictures.

"We'll leave you alone." They say and then they walk out the door.

"They both have dark hair, Pipes." Alex says, gently rubbing over the little girls hair.

"I know. I was just expecting blonde, like Ella's, but they both got dark hair."

They sit there is total awe of everything that has happened today, until another knock on the door breaks their focus.

Nicky walks in. "Oh my God. They're here." She says, going to Alex and then looking at Piper. Alex hands her the little girl, "This is Addison Nicole Vause. We're going to call her Addie for short." Nicky's eyes fill up with tears. "I love you guys." She says. "Hey Addie." And she brings the baby up so she can kiss her nose.

"Wait, did you guys get a boy too?!" she asks excitedly, seeing the blue hat and blanket wrapped in Piper's arms.

"Yeah, a little boy. Aiden Thomas Vause." Piper says, outlining his little face with her finger.

"Addie and Aiden. I love it." Nicky says, handing Addie back to Alex and going to get a better look at Aiden.

"No blonde on either of them." Nicky says, holding Aiden.

"Nope. It's just Ella and I." Piper says, "Wait, where is Ella?"

"At home with Red. We can bring her by tomorrow morning if you want."

"Yeah, that would be good." Alex says, smiling at Nicky.

"Alright, well I'm going to take off. I think Polly is in the hall, do you want me to send her in?"

"Yeah" Piper says, and Nicky leaves

Polly walks in a moment later with her hands covering her mouth.

"Oh my God." She says, walking over to Piper "You got a boy!" she says, smiling wide. She turns to Alex, "And another girl! Pipes they're adorable." She says. "Names?"

Piper points to the girl, "Addison Nicole and Aiden Thomas."

"They're perfect. Can I?" she asks, holding her arms out for Aiden

Piper passes off the baby. "He's so little. I thought Finn was tiny, but he is definitely smaller." She rocks him gently

"Yeah, they're both smaller than Ella was. I guess because there was two of them."

Polly breathes in the fresh baby smell, "Got to love it. They smell so good when they're little." She smiles and passes him back to Piper.

"Okay, I'll go. I was freaking out when Alex got the call and everything happened so fast. Just wow. Amazing." She says "So happy for you guys." And she waves goodbye and leaves.

"They look so much alike." Alex says, looking at both the babies.

"If they weren't different genders, telling them apart would be hell." Piper laughs.

"Are you tired?" Alex asks

"No, not really. I was definitely more tired after Ella than I am now. Probably because I didn't have to do anything. But I'm sore. This scar is going to suck."

"Aw, it'll be fine. You won't even notice it after a while."

"Al, we have 3 kids. 3. Can you believe it?"

"No. It's insane. Who would've thought?"

"Al, we can't have any more. This is it. No more. 3 is plenty."

"Yeah, that's for sure", she says pushing her glasses to the top of her head to hold her hair back. She looks up at Piper holding Aiden and smiles.

"I still can't believe this all happened today. Like, it's crazy. This has got to be the craziest day of my life." Alex says, shaking her head at the day's events.

"You're telling me. I was just expecting a check up and here we are with two of the cutest babies I've ever seen." She says, swiping her finger down Aiden's nose.

"Yeah, definitely the cutest." Alex smiles at Piper.

"Were you scared?"

"Hell yeah I was scared. You called, and I was freaking out. Poor Polly thought something had happened to you. And then when I got into the OR, I've never been so scared in my life. I don't know how you weren't scared."

"You were there. I had nothing to worry about." Piper smiles at her.

Alex says nothing, and just kisses Piper. She sits on the edge of the bed.

"I heart you, too." She says, leaning her head into Alex's shoulder.

A few days later, Piper's incision looks good enough that they tell her she can be released with her babies.

Liked Alex did with Ella, she makes sure everything is extremely secure and locked in, and then makes sure Piper is all buckled in before pulling away from the discharge bay of the hospital.

They pull up to their apartment, and Alex helps Piper out. She grabs both carriers, because she won't let Piper lift anything.

"Al, really, I can take one." She says

"No, the doctor said no lifting. I can handle it, you just have to get the doors."

They make it to their apartment and are greeted by a very excited two year old and a wild haired Aunt Nicky.

"Mommy!" Ella yells and crashes into Alex. Alex set the carriers down and picks her up. "I've missed you!" she says, swinging her in a hug. "Give mama a hug, but gentle. She has a boo boo." Ella wraps her arms around Piper's neck and Piper gives her a big kiss.

"Hey girlie, I missed you so much. Were you good for Aunt Nicky and Red?"

"Yeah!" she says, and Alex sets her down.

"They're here too?" Ella says, looking at the two sleeping babies in the carriers.

Al laughs a little, "Yes. You remember them. Your brother and sister. Remember? They were in mama's belly for a long time..."

Ella nods her head. She had been to the hospital twice over the few days that they were staying in the hospital, but it hadn't really sunk in that the babies would be coming to her house.

"Nicky you want to get Aiden, and I'll take Addie."

"Yeah." And Nicky walks over, unbuckling the little boy form her harness and lifting him up gently, resting him on her shoulder.

Piper had gone to sit on the couch, and Nicky passes her the baby.

"Hey, big guy." Piper says, resting him on her lap. "You're home. Exciting, right?" she says, adjusting his onesie.

"Pipes, we should probably put them down, and let them sleep."

"Yeah, you're right. Probably a good idea." She says, trying to get up, but realizing she is too sore.

"I'll get him." Nicky says, and Piper nods, lifting him up to her. Alex leads them to the nursery and puts Addie in the crib on the right and Nicky puts Aiden in the other. Al double checks the monitors and everything. Nicky nudges at her ribs.

"Who would've thought, the badass Alex Vause would go all soft and end up with 3 kids?" she smiles.

"Oh shut up Nick." She laughs, gently shutting the door

They walk into the living room, "Pipes? You want to lay down for a little bit?"

"Yeah, that would be nice."

"Here, I'll help you up." Alex says, gently lifting her wife, and walking her to the bedroom to ease her onto the mattress. "I'll be in the living room." She says and Piper nods, turning and closing her eyes.

"She's exhausted." Alex says, walking over to Nicky who is sitting on the couch watching Ella play on the floor.

"I bet. God, I do not envy you. Two babies to deal with at night."

"Yeah, but it's so worth it. I mean, you saw them." She smiles

Nicky looks at the woman she befriended years ago in prison, and sees where they are now. "You're such a mush." Nicky laughs

"Oh come on, you know how fucking cute they are. Tell me you don't want one." Alex says to Nicky

"What makes you think that I want one of my own? I like El, and the babies, but I couldn't have one of my own. Jesus, I can't even take care of myself most of the time."

"Please. I see how you are with Ella. She adores you, and you adore her. And you call me a mush."

Nicky cracks that smile, and twirls around her toothpick in her teeth. "Well Lorna talks about it. She wants one, eventually, and it's not that I don't, it's just like I don't think I'd be any good at it."

"Give me a break. If you loved another kid half as much as you love Ella, it would be more than enough. You'd be a great mom."

"You think so?"

"Yeah, I really do."

Nicky's eyes get misty, "Jesus Vause, got me crying all the time." She says, shoving Alex's knee. Ella walks over to Nicky and she pulls her into her lap, pushing back her hair. "I'm good with being Aunt Nicky for now."

"Mush." Alex says

"Fuck you." Nicky mouths back, then flashing that smile that Alex has grown to love over the years.

Alex hears crying coming from the nursery.

She looks at Nicky, "So it begins…"

**Sorry I didn't update yesterday. I'm really sick and it is finals/hell preparation week at school. I hope you liked this chapter. Finally the names are out there, and I hope you like them both. I just had to represent my love for Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice with the name Addison. The reviews on the last couple of chapters have been amazing, so thank you so much. They mean a lot. Once again, sorry about the wait...I hope it was worth it. Thanks for reading! **


	33. Always

"Morning" Alex smiles at Piper as the blonde wakes up

Alex kisses her softly

"Morning baby." Piper sleepily smiles back at her, rubbing her eyes. "How long have you been awake?"

"A little while. I got up and fed and changed the twins and they're sleeping, so I was just laying here, watching you…"

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah"

"Ella asleep?"

"Yep, probably for a while longer."

Piper rolls over onto her side and tucks a strand of Alex's black hair behind her ear. "So it's just us, no kids awake?" she bites her bottom lip

"Yeah, all asl—" she is cut off by the kiss Piper gives her, pulling her head in closer to hers. "Oh, okay." She smiles into Piper's lips

Piper's free hand rests on Alex's thigh, and trail slowly up her side, and then cups her breast. She lays kisses on her neck as Alex tangles her fingers in her hair.

Alex reaches over and pulls Piper's thigh, making her straddle her, and grips her hips, sitting up so she can pull off her own shirt. Piper reaches down and cups Alex's face, then kisses down her neck, in between her breasts, and taking her time with each of them. She trails her lips down Alex's stomach, and hooks her fingers around the waistband of her shorts, pulling everything off in one quick motion, and Alex kicks them the rest of the way off.

"Pipes" she breathes out as Piper peppers kisses on her hipbones and then on the inside of each of her thighs. "Pipes, I need you." She begs, which is not something she does often, but this is the first action she has seen since before the twins were born three months ago.

Piper hasn't felt quite herself, because of the scar, no matter how hard Alex tries to tell her it is okay, and that it doesn't matter if it's there. Piper has had a hard time with it. Alex loves her just the way she is, with or without scars. Piper is the most beautiful woman in the world to her.

Piper makes her way back up to Alex's face and kisses her roughly, and right as Alex was about to beg for a second time, she feels two fingers open her up, and move up and down her center.

She moans out at the contact, and grinds her hips to try and get more friction. She throws her head back when Piper takes those two fingers and thrusts into her, sucking on her neck.

"Pipes" she moans out

"Shh" Piper says, not wanting to wake the kids and ruin their alone time

She curls her fingers, hitting that spot within Alex that sends her arching up. Her thumb circles her bundle of nerves, and as she feels Alex starting to tighten around her, she replaces her fingers with her mouth, sucking and nipping, until Alex comes undone, arching and bowing, moaning out Piper's name.

She cleans up the mess she has made, and kisses a new trail up Alex's stomach, when Alex pulls her in for a deep kiss, tasting herself on Piper's lips.

After a few minutes, Alex catches her breath and runs her hands up Pipers back, who is laying a little off to her side, but still on top of her. She puts her chin in Alex's chest, looking into her eyes.

Alex grabs her back, and pushes Piper so that she is now on top. Alex grabs the hem of Piper's shirt and takes it off slowly. Alex kisses her shoulders, and down her stomach, but Piper puts her hand of her scar. Alex looks up at her.

"Pipes. Stop. Don't hide it."

"It's ugly, you don't need to see it."

"It's beautiful." She grabs Piper's hands, moving it over and looking down at the scar that isn't even very big. She trails over it with her finger tip, and looks back up at Piper. She brings her mouth down to it and kisses across it. "It's fine. Don't worry about it, Pipes." She says and caresses the back of Piper's thigh as she lays between her legs.

"Al." she whimpers a little, craving her wife's touch.

They make love for a while before tangling in each others arms, still not hearing the sound of kids stirring and things needing done.

Alex pulls Piper in closer, and breathes in for a moment. "I love you, Pipes. You do know that? Right?"

"Of course I know that." Piper says, looking into Alex's green eyes

"You don't ever have to worry about anything stopping that. Not a scar, or a mark, or anything. None of it matters."

"It's just, you don't have any of it, and sometimes I think that you might get turned off by them. They're not sexy."

Alex feels sad that Piper thinks like that, because anything could not be more wrong. "Those marks mean everything to me. They mean Ella, and Addie, and Aiden. I don't have them because I didn't have to carry them. You did. I love them. All of them. And I love you." She kisses Piper

Piper rests her cheek on Alex's chest.

"And you are definitely sexy. That's never going to change. From when you were 23, in that bar turning in that bullshit resume, to now laying here in our apartment, having 3 kids. You are always sexy." She laughs and Piper laughs at the memory of when they met in that bar downtown.

"That was a damn good resume."

"Oh yeah right." Alex laughs

They lay there quiet until the sound of crying can be heard coming from down the hall.

"They're up." Alex says. And they untangle their limbs and head down they hall.

**Sorry for the short chapter, I'm still sick. A little smut/fluff because it's always fun to write. I hope you liked it. It was a little soft, but still hot, I think. Thanks for all the great reviews, and please keep them coming because their amazing to read. Thank you for reading again! It means a lot! :)**


	34. Doctor's Appointments

Alex balanced Addie on her hip, scrambling eggs for Ella, who is sitting in her chair at the table, steadily drumming away on the table with her fork and spoon. Addie is totally content to just watch what he mother is doing, shuffling around the spatula in the pan.

Alex grabs the pan's handle and pours the eggs onto a plate.

"Cheese?" Alex asks Ella

"Yeah!" she excitedly says

Alex sprinkles a bit of cheese over her eggs and sets the plate in front of her.

"Pipes?"

"Just a sec."

Alex sits at the table across from Ella, sitting Addie on her lap, facing her so she can see her face when she bounces her on her knee.

She makes cooing noises at the little girl, who is smiling and laughing.

"Excited to see Red?" Alex asks Ella who is happily munching away at her breakfast.

"Yep! We gonna go to the zoo."

"Oh yeah? Are you excited."

She excitedly nods her head and starts rambling on about all the animals she's going to see as Piper walks out from the hall with Aiden.

"All set?" Alex asks

"Yeah." She plants a kiss on Ella's head as she walks bye. "Morning Baby."

"Morning Mommy."

"Hurry up and eat so we can drop you off at Aunt Nicky's."

Ella finishes, and Piper grabs her plate and sets it in the sink. "Get your shoes on, El." And Ella runs off to put on her little sneakers.

"I'm really not looking forward to this." Alex says, pushing back Addie's hair.

"Me either. I hate it."

Ella comes running out, and they head out the door, piling into the car and making the quick trip to Nicky's. Piper walks her up, carrying a backpack, snacks, waters, and some cash to give to Nicky for taking her to the Zoo. She kisses her goodbye, thanks Nicky, and jogs back down to the car. Nicky usually doesn't watch her on the weekends, but Alex and Piper have to take the twins to the doctors for some shots, so Nicky offered to watch her for the day.

Piper turns around to make sure the babies are still okay, and they're just sitting there smiling.

"They're happy now, but they're going to be mad as hell here in a little while." Alex says, peering into the rearview window to look at them.

"I know. I hate it."

"Yeah, well they'll be okay. Maybe they'll even get some ice cream out of it. Sound good guys?" and the babies laugh.

They pull into the lot and each takes a baby. They check in and sit in the waiting area.

A nurse comes out, "Vause. Addison and Aiden Vause."

They walk back, babies in tow to an exam room.

The nurse asks lots of questions, "Okay, the Doctor will be in in a few minutes." She smiles, waving goodbye to the babies and walking out the door.

The doctor knocks a few minutes later before entering. "Hey guys." She smiles big.

He pulls up a chair in front of Alex and Piper, examining the babies' eyes and looking in the ears. "Well everything looks good. So 6 months old. How are you two holding up?" he smiles

"We're good." Piper says, bouncing Addie on her knees.

"Really good." Alex says.

"Great, well this is the hard part. They need a few vaccines, so I've got to go ahead and do that. Who do you want to go first?"

"Pipes, who went first last time?"

"Addie"

"Okay, so Aiden will go first this time."

"They can stay sitting, it makes it easier. Just gonna roll up the legs of his onesie." He smiles at Aiden and tickles him to make him laugh, trying to distract him.

"How many?" Alex asks, concerned.

"Three." And Alex sighs. "I'll be quick." And she nods.

The shots are over in a few seconds, but Aiden is a screaming and crying mess. She tries to soothe and hush him, pulling him tighter into her.

"Aw bud, it's okay. Shh." She rubs his back.

Piper tenses at the crying. This is always the worst thing for her. Seeing them cry in pain, which she knows isn't even bad, but it makes her feel terrible.

"Okay Miss Addie. You're next.", and he goes through the same steps, but Addie does a bit better and quiets after a few minutes.

Piper brushes back her dark hair and wipes the tears from her face, rocking her gently.

"Alright, all done. Sorry guys." He says. "You two okay?"

"Yeah."

"Always tough on parents to see that."

They both nod.

"So I guess we'll see you back in a few months for more checkups. He shakes both of their hands and then leaves.

They head to the car, and the ordeal of the visit is long behind the twins who are being buckled into their car seats.

Alex is driving and rests her right arm on the center console, when Piper grabs her hand, tracing over it with her thumb. Alex smiles over at her and then focuses back on the road.

"Ice cream?" Alex asks her

"Yes!" she says back, like a little kid

They pull into a spot and get out the strolled, strapping in Aiden and Addie and walking the few blocks to a little local shop.

"Two vanilla cups, a chocolate cone, and Pipes, what do you want?"

"Uh, I'll have a strawberry cone, please."

They get their ice cream and head to the sitting area out front, sitting at a shaded table and each taking a baby.

"Making a mess, man." Alex says, wiping the ice cream dribbling down his face.

Piper laughs, "Looks like a beard."

An older woman sitting across from them catches Piper's eye. She is smiling at them.

"You're a beautiful family." She says, and Alex and Piper smile at her. "Thank you." They both say

"How old?" she asks

"6 months." Piper says, feeding Addie another scoop.

"Precious. Well they're very cute." She says, getting up. "Have a nice day." And she waves goodbye before heading on her way.

Alex and Piper smile at each other, cleaning up the mess that the twins have made, and head to a park down the street.

They're almost there when they both hear screaming coming from behind them. "Vause! Chapman!"

They both turn and look to see who is calling them.

"What the hell?" Alex asks, trying to find who is calling them when she finally sees who it is. "No way." She smiles

"Who is it?" Piper asks. Alex is a bit taller and can see far enough to see who is yelling their names and running down the street after them. Al?"

"It's Taystee and Poussey."

Piper finally sees them and waves.

They finally make it to them and greet each other with hugs.

"It's been a long time." Taystee says

"Yeah, I think the last time we saw y'all was like right after Ella was born."

Piper nods, "Yeah, that was almost 3 years ago. Sorry, we have been insanely busy."

"I can see that. You have more?" Poussey asks, pointing to the stroller.

Alex turns it around and shows them the two smiling babies sitting inside.

"Hey, there's two. Woah, you have a packed house."

Alex laughs and nods. "3 kids. Who would've thought?"

Taystee and Poussey nod.

"So how have you two been. All good?" Piper asks

"Yeah, we're working at the law library." Taystee says, flashing that megawatt smile.

"That's great. We will all have to get together some time. Have you heard anything from anyone else in there?" Alex asks

"Yeah, Janae got out last year. Crazy Eyes is still there. Pennsatuckey is back, and that's all I know."

"Jesus. Pennsatuckey. What was it this time? Another "In the name of the Lord" act?" she says, throwing her hands up mocking her.

"Drugs, I know you find it hard to believe. Those new teeth didn't change much of anything."

"Well she's probably better off in there. Too crazy for the outside."

They all nod in agreement.

"Well we have got to head back tot work, we're on lunch, but we saw you both and had to catch up. We'll have to get together and really catch up some time."

"Okay, for sure. That would be great. Take care." Piper puts her number into their phones, and they hugs goodbye.

They make it down the street.

"Crazy right? Running into them. It's been a long time." Piper says

"We have been so busy. Babies and everything." Alex says, pushing the twins in the stroller.

"So busy."

"I think this is like the first time we've had a day out since the twins were born."

"No way." Piper says, a shocked look on her face, trying to think back to the last time.

"Yeah, I think so. First time in 6 months. Holy, Pipes, we can't wait this long again. We can't become hermits who only hang out with their kids." She laugh

Piper laughs at the statement, "You're right. We have to do something with adults, no baby talk or anything, soon."

"A date night?" Alex asks

"Exactly. A date night." Piper smiles at her.


	35. For Old Time's Sake

"Al, are you almost ready?"

"In a minute, Pipes." She says from inside of the bathroom

Piper lays back on the bed. "We're gonna be late."

The doorknob turns and Piper quickly sits up and out walks Alex in a tight black dress and black heels, her hair curled and that red lipstick that makes her eyes pop. Piper gets up and walks over to her, reaching out her hands and taking Alex's, looking her up and down and smiling. "Gorgeous." She says before kissing Alex.

"You look beautiful, Pipes." She says

Piper turns around and starts walking to their bedroom door, "Stop staring at my ass, Al." she laughs

"I can't help it. It looks damn good in that dress."

Piper is in a white dress with black heels and her hair is pulled back, but not enough so that she can hide that fish tattoo on the back of her neck.

The babysitter is playing with Ella and the babies on the floor.

"Sarah, our numbers are on the refrigerator, emergency contacts, everything is there. If there are any problems, call us. You sure you're okay to stay the night with them?"

"Yes, Piper. I'm sure."

"Okay, we will be back by 10 in the morning. They're all bathed, just make sure they go to bed a decent time." They both kiss Ella and the babies goodbye, and head out the door to the cab.

"Chapman! Vause!" Nicky yells as they walk into the seating area of the restaurant they're eating at.

"Jesus, Nick. The whole place heard you." Alex says as she gives her a hug. Piper hugs her too, making her rounds at the table. Lorna, Red and her husband, and Polly and Pete are there. "Sorry we're late. Alex took a while getting ready." Piper smirks at Alex.

"Pete. Long time no see. It's been forever."

"Yeah, been away for a bit. Back for a while." He says, smiling and grabbing Polly's hand and kissing her.

Polly doesn't talk about how much Pete is gone. Yes, it bothers her, and no, it is not a relationship style that would work for Piper and Alex, but it works for them. Polly loves him, and she beams when he's around.

They order drinks and catch up.

Dinner is wonderful, and they all laugh and eat. A good time, an adult time.

"Hey, why don't we go get some drinks?" Alex suggests as they're leaving.

"I think we are going to head home. You younger people go have a good time." Red says, and they say their goodbyes. Alex hails a cab, and her and Piper, and Lorna and Nicky take one, while Pete and Poly take another.

Alex gives the driver a written address and 20 minutes later they pull up to a bar.

They walk in and Piper's smile spread across her face as she takes Alex's hand.

"Where the fuck are we?" Nicky asks, looking around.

Polly looks at Piper who can't shed that smile, "This isn't…" she starts

"This is where I first met Piper." Alex says, smiling at her wife.

"Jesus, Vause. Winning at everything." She laughs, heading to the bar and ordering a round of shots.

"I don't know the story, so someone tell it to me."

"I know it." Polly says, smiling at her best friend.

"I was sitting here with my friends. This exact table, and I see this hot blonde woman walk in and sit up at the bar."

Piper smiles, listening to the story and remembering the events that unfolded almost 20 years ago.

"She was way to pretty to be sitting alone, and I said something about her being Laura Ingalls Wilder, and escaping the apocalypse. Anyways, then I bought her a drink, introduced her to my friends, and then took her back to my place."

"Very smooth Vause." Nicky grins, twisting another toothpick in her teeth.

"Yeah, real smooth until her girlfriend at the time came in and attacked me. But it didn't matter because we met again and…" Piper trails off and giggles at Alex, who remembers that night at the bar very well. She grabs the inside of Piper's thigh, squeezing it.

They all laugh over drinks, and the blonde lightweight is quickly feeling the alcohol in her system, dragging Alex to dance. The other two join them and they dance.

Piper leans into Alex and whispers in her ear. "Tonight has been so good, but…."

"But what?" Alex asks back

Piper looks into her eyes and crashes her lips into Alex's, not caring if Polly and Pete, and Lorna and Nicky are staring. She grabs Alex's hands and drags her to the bathroom.

"Pipes, what are you doing?" Alex laughs, following her wife down the hall

"For old times sake, Al." Piper laughs as she opens the bathroom door.

"Pipes. No, we are too old for this."

"But Al, I want to taste what you taste like." She says, biting her lip and then laughing because it's the same line she used all those years ago.

Alex feels heat shoot straight to her core, and she forgets that they might be too old for sex in public, and they practically fall into the bathroom, locking the door behind them.

"Where the fuck did the two lovebirds go?" Nicky finally says, as they've been sitting at the table for 15 minutes, no sign of Alex or Piper anywhere.

A moment later, a slightly disheveled couple comes walking out of the hallway, all smiles and affectionate touching. Piper tries fixing her hair, and Alex is smoothing out her dress.

"Jesus. Come on guys. You are married, and have kid,s and are still fucking in public places."

Piper's face goes red, and she buries her face in Alex's shoulder. Alex slaps Nicky's wrist. "We are a healthy married couple, and we do what we want." She says laughing, and pulling Piper into her lap.

Piper wraps her arms around her neck and lays her head on her chest.

"Well, you really took it out of her." Polly snickers and everybody laughs.

"I'll go get the tab and close it." Pete says. "On me." he pays the bartender and tips her, and they all head out.

Alex is practically carrying Piper out, and gets her in a cab to take her back to a hotel room that they have a few blocks away for the night. A romantic night alone.

They pull up and Alex checks them in, leading her upstairs, taking off her dress as Piper can barely keep her eyes open.

"Someone is tired." Alex laughs, setting Piper back on the bed before taking off her own dress and crawling into bed with Piper.

Piper turns herself into Alex and settles along her body, folding her right legs over Alex's and keeping her left legs straight against her.

Alex kisses her hair, breathing in that Piper scent, and pulling Piper in closer to her before closing her eyes.

**Well double update because I haven't updated as much this week as I would have liked to, which I am so sorry for. If I can make it through Friday, hell week will be over and I'll be able to update more because I have a month off from school. Hopefully you all liked this chapter. A little blast from the past, and a reminder of that lovely 2x10 episode that all Vauseman shippers love, lol. Hopefully you all liked the updates, and I'll try to do as many as possible this week. Thanks for all the wonderful reviews, they're great. Please continue leaving them because they're a huge motivation, and they give me ideas. Thanks for all the support, and I'll try my best this week! :)**


	36. Lights Out

**Alex: Want me to pick up dinner on the way home?**

**Piper: Yeah, what about Greek?**

**Alex: Okay, will pick it up on my way. Be home soon.**

She reads the message and sets her phone down. She continues making Ella and the babies' dinner. Chicken and rice for Ella and pureed veggies and applesauce for the babies.

Ella is sitting across from her eating her dinner as Piper feeds Aiden and Addie, who are just making a mess, and making Piper laugh.

They've really grown into their personalities. Aiden is very silly and extremely happy. He's always smiling and laughing, rarely crying, much like Ella was. Addie is more reserved, and sits and watches everything. She's very quiet and laid back, where Ella has that fire that doesn't burn out. On top of their personalities, they're starting to look different. They both still have dark brown hair. Aiden's eyes are green, like Ella's, but Addie's eyes are blue. So blue, much like Piper's. Aiden is bigger than Addie, and Alex calls him a tank. All he does is eat. He's way bigger than Ella was at his age. Addie is definitely smaller.

As Piper is wiping off their faces, Alex walks through the door and Ella jumps from her seat to meet her. "Mommy!" she yells, crashing into her legs like she does every day.

"Hey El." She says, running her fingers through her blonde ponytail.

Alex walks over to the table and gives Aiden and Addie a kiss on the head before bending down to give Piper a kiss. "Hey babe."

"Long day?"

"Yeah, but it's the weekend, so it's fine." She smiles, getting the food out of the to go bag and bringing it over to the table.

"So good." Piper says, taking a bite of her dinner.

Ella is sitting on Alex's lap, taking little bits of food off her plate, trying to be sneaky.

"It's too hot outside." Alex says

"I know! It's like 100 degrees out. It's only the end of June. There's still July and August. Al, I'm gonna die."

Alex laughs at her wife's exaggeration. "Oh yeah? Leave me with these three kids, one of which keeps stealing my food." She says, wrapping Ella up with her free arm and tickling her side, making her laugh.

Piper laughs with them.

"July!" Ella says and they both look at her.

"Yeah? You know what July means?" Piper asks her

Ella pauses for a moment, and then "Birthday!"

"Yeah, that's right. Do you know what you want to do for your birthday?"

"Pool." She says, smiling

"A pool party?" Alex asks, looking at Piper

"Maybe Aunt Polly will let us come over to her apartment and we can have a party there and use her pool."

"Yeah!" Ella says excitedly.

There's a noise and Piper and Alex look at each other, and then the apartment goes dark.

"Shit." Alex says, grabbing her phone.

"Al!" Piper says, reminding her that Ella is right there.

"Power's out. Heat must have made it knock out."

"Ughh. That mean no air conditioning." Piper says sadly

Alex uses her phone light to go and find flashlights and candles.

They finally get it lit enough so that they can sit in the living room and see each other.

Alex is leaned on one arm of the couch, Addie reclined on her thighs, chewing on a rubber toy, while Piper sits next to her with Aiden in her lap, playing with her hair. Ella is playing with one of the flashlights.

It starts getting warm in the apartment, and Piper quickly strips down into a pair of running shorts and a sports bra.

"Are we just going to sleep out here tonight?" Alex asks, looking at Piper.

"I guess so. It would probably be easier, since it's all right here."

"Yeah, that's what I was thinking."

Piper smiles at Alex, "Here, take him. I've got an idea."

Alex sits up and moves Addie so she can also put Aiden in her lap.

Piper scampers off to the bedroom.

"El, you okay? Not afraid of the dark?" Alex asks her

"I'm okay."

"Let me know if you get scared, alright?" she says and Ella nods back, still playing with the flashlight and shining it on the wall.

Alex looks over and sees Piper dragging all the sheets from their bed into the living room with a huge smile plastered on her face.

"What the hell are you doing?" Alex asks her. She can't helping but smile at how cute Piper is.

"Building a fort!" Piper says excitedly

"A fort?"

"Yeah, Cal and I used to make them and they're really fun. So that's what we are gonna do."

She starts moving the coffee table and moves one of the couches so it is facing the other, and drapes a sheet across the top, so it makes a ceiling. She makes it so that all but one side is covered, and then puts the rest on the ground inside so that they'll have something to lay on.

"Pipes, you're ridiculous." Alex says, holding the two babies, and just watching.

Ella is in total awe of Piper at the moment, and what she's made. She's so excited, she can barely contain herself. She crawls on in, and lights it with a flashlight, letting Piper crawl in. Alex passes her the babies, and makes her way inside, laying on her back facing everyone.

"This is actually really cool." She says, taking Piper's hand and looking around.

"You never made one of these before?" Piper asks her, sounding surprised.

"No, never."

"Well now you've been in one." She says, leaning over and kissing her.

Aiden and Addie lay on their back, watching the flashlight zip around the fort, thanks to Ella. Alex lies on her side watching their faces light up, and watching how Piper is looking at them, eyes full of love. After a while the babies fall asleep and are moved to one side of the fort so that they're out of the way. Piper and Alex lay near each other, watching Ella make shadows with the flashlight and laugh.

"Mama, look!" she says, pointing for Piper to see

"I see, baby. It's amazing." Piper smiles at how happy Ella is.

Alex props herself up on one elbow and drapes her other arm over Piper, kissing her neck.

"I love that you made a fort." she says int her ear

"Yeah?" Piper turns to her, tucking a strand of dark hair behind her ear.

"Yeah. It was sweet and cool, and look, Ella loves it." She smiles at the little girl who is so happy it makes her heart hurt a little.

"Yeah, well I am sweet and cool." Piper playfully says, and Alex shoves her a little.

"Smart ass." And she kisses her.

Ella crawls in between them, something she never does because she sleeps in her own room. They lay on their sides facing her and talking into the night until Ella's eyelids grow too heavy to keep open, and she falls asleep, blonde hair all over the place. She looks just like Piper when she sleeps. Alex kisses her on the forehead, and lays her head on the pillow behind her, grabbing Piper's free hand that isn't resting on Ella and tracing over it with her thumbnail.

"Best power outage ever." She says, looking into Piper's eyes.

"I loved it." Piper says sleepily, trying to stay awake. Alex looks over at the babies who are still fast asleep.

"We should do this again. Even if there is power." Alex says

Piper smiles and nods, "Yeah, we should." And she is taken by sleep, just like Ella.

Alex wakes up to an empty fort, and makes her way out of it to see Piper making breakfast.

She takes a step and realizes she's kind of sore.

Piper looks over, hearing the floor creak. "Morning sleepy head." She looks at Alex's face and knows she's sore from sleeping on the floor all night. "Aw, someone is sore from not sleeping in a bed."

"Ha ha. Very funny. I'm just a little too old to be sleeping on a hard ground all night." She says, rubbing her eyes

She wraps Piper up from behind, and kisses her neck. "Did you sleep good?" she whispers into her skin.

"Yep. I slept great." She smiles, flipping bacon in the pan.

"Smells so good." Alex says, making her way to the table, running her hands over the babies' hair and kissing Ella good morning.

"El, did you sleep good?"

"Yep!" she says, taking a bite of one of the pancakes in front of her.

"So I guess the power came back on since you're making breakfast."

"Yeah, about 2 hours ago. Thank God, because I was dying of heatstroke."

"Always so dramatic." Alex laughs

Piper walks over to the table and sets a plate in front of Alex, and then sits next to her.

"Hey, Al, I was thinking, maybe we could build a fort in our room some time for an adult sleepover." Piper whispers in her ear tracing her finger up the inside of her thigh, sending shivers up Alex's spine.

"Hell yeah." Alex smiles at her, taking a bite of her pancake. "I'd love that."

**Hopefully you all liked this chapter. It was fun to write. Thanks for the review on the last chapter. They're always appreciated. I will try my best with updates this week, but I have 4 finals in 4 days, so not promising updates every day, but I will definitely try. I have a few ideas swirling around. Also, best of luck to anyone reading this who is going through finals week this week, or any time soon. Thanks again for reading, and everything else! :)**


	37. Weekend Trip Part 1

Piper is sitting on the bed painting her toes when she looks up at Alex.

"Al, let's go out of town next weekend."

Alex sets the book she's reading down and moves her glasses to the top of her head. "Where?"

"The beach. It's summer. We have to go at least once. We can take a day trip, get a hotel…I've got a new bikini that you haven't seen." Piper smiles at Alex

"Now you're talking." She says, winking at Piper and moving closer to her.

"Maybe ask Nicky and Lorna if they want to come…get some alone time." She says slowly, leaning to kiss Alex.

"Oh, alone time? Well now I'm sold." She grabs her cheek and pulls her in, taking her lips in a searing kiss.

"We can pack up the car, head out Friday night, spend all day Saturday at the beach, and come back Sunday." Piper says, like a little kid who is really excited

"Uh no. We can rent a car. I don't want sand in our car." Alex says

"You and your cars…"

"Oh come on. You know we will never get the sand out of it."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Fine. We'll rent a car."

The next Friday, Alex is packing the rental car up, Piper is double checking all the bags, making sure Ella and the babies will have everything they'll need.

"Okay, last bag is in the car." Nicky walks up behind Alex in the door way.

"Let's get this vacation started!" she says, and Ella runs over to her so she picks her up. "You ready for this, El?" she asks

"Yeah!"

"Alright, high five." And she holds up her hand for a high five. "Hey, we can take Ella, if you two just want to take the babies. I can put her seat in the car." Nicky says to Piper and Alex

"El, you wanna ride with Aunt Nicky?" Alex asks her

"YES!" she says, jumping around

"Okay, I'll get the seat and move it into your car." Alex says, walking out of the apartment.

"Pipes, you need help taking them all down?"

"Uh, yeah, can you take Addie and I'll get Aiden. El, hold my hand, okay?" and Ella grabs her hand. They walk out, Piper locks the door, and they walk down to the cars out front.

"Okay, El, get in. You're good to go." She lifts her into the seat and buckles her in, giving her a kiss. "Be good."

Piper kisses her goodbye and shuts the door before going and making sure the babies are in and happy.

Alex pulls off the curb and they head out of town for the beach.

"You excited?" Nicky asks Ella, looking at her through the rearview mirror.

"Yeah! Gonna swim, and sandcastles…" and she starts ranting on about everything she plans on doing. Lorna is watching how Nicky lights up around her, hanging on every word she says, like it's the most fascinating thing she's ever heard. She can't help but smile, because Nicky Nichols has come a long way since she first met her.

"What are you looking at." Nicky finally asks, switching between Lorna and the road. "Creepin me out with all the staring."

"It's just. I love you is all." Lorna says, and grabs Nicky's hand, and brings it up to her lips for a kiss. Nicky smiles. "I love you too."

They drive for a couple of hours before Alex turns into a very nice hotel roundabout, and gets out of the car to check in. Nicky follows them in, leaving everybody else in the cars out under the awning. It's late, since they didn't leave until after work, putting them there at 9:30.

Piper turns around to check on the babies, who are fast asleep thanks to the movement of the car. "Works every time." She smiles to herself.

Alex and Nicky walk out a minute later, starting to put luggage on rolling carts, and then getting the babies and Ella out before they go and park a couple of yards away.

They head up to the room. Nicky and Lorna are across the hall from Piper and Alex.

Piper puts the babies down on the bed, letting them sleep, until they can get their travel beds set up. Alex sets up the pull out couch for Ella, making sure it's to her standards, as Ella watches, making sure she tucks everything in the way she likes it.

Piper sets up the travel beds, and puts the twins down for the night.

"Story!" Ella says, patting the bed next to her for Alex. Alex grabs a book, lays down, and Piper lays next to Ella, rubbing her back so she'll fall asleep a little quicker.

After half an hour, Ella isn't the only one asleep, and Alex gently nudges Piper awake.

"Pipes, let's go to bed." She grabs her hand, helping her up, and pulls the sheet over Ella, kissing her goodnight.

Piper slides off her jeans, keeping her t shirt on, and Alex changes into shorts. They crawl into bed, Alex snuggling herself up behind Piper and pulling her in, kissing her neck. "Night, babe.

"Night." Piper says softly, before falling back asleep.

Alex wakes to Aiden starting to stir, and she picks him up, quieting him so he doesn't wake the rest of the group. She feeds and changes him before putting him back down, knowing he'll be okay for a while longer.

She settles back into the bed next to Piper, who moves a little when the bed shifts.

She turns so she is facing Alex, and drapes an arm over her, snuggling into her side. Alex wraps her arm around her, and places a kiss on the top of her head. Piper tiredly sighs, and wraps her fingers in Alex's shirt, before opening her eyes and looking at Alex.

"Morning." Alex smiles down at her

"Morning." She says quietly, in her sleepy voice. "What time is it?"

"9. Aiden was fed, and changed. Addie is still sleeping, and so is Ella."

"What would I do without you?" Piper smiles, sitting up.

"No idea."

"Well we probably need to get up, and get everybody ready and fed before we head down." Piper says, getting up.

"Someone is ready to go."

"You want to see that new bikini, don't you?" she smirks at Alex.

"Ooh, got me. Alright. Let's go." And she gets up quickly.

"El, time to get up." She says, quietly rubbing her to wake her up.

Ella just rolls over and puts her hands up for Alex to picks her up and carry her to her bed, like she does every morning.

"You're about as a morning person as Mama." She says, picking her up and laying her head on her shoulder before putting her back down on her bed. "If you want to go to the beach, you have to stay awake." She says to her, and Ella opens her eyes a little. "There you are. You want to go right?" and Ella cracks a little smile, and Alex tickles her. She picks her up and puts her feet on the floor. "Go have Mama help you brush your teeth" she says, and Ella scampers off to the bedroom.

Alex sees Addie starting to move, and she picks her up.

"Good morning, Addie." She coos, rubbing her back. "You hungry?"

Piper helps Ella brush her teeth, making sure she actually scrubs and rinses.

Ella opens her mouth, looking at Piper, "Good?" she says in words that don't even sound like real words.

"Looks good." Piper says, after looking for a second. "Go and get your bathing suit."

Alex is changing the babies on the bed, putting Aiden in little swim bottoms and a t shirt and Addie in a little shiny green and blue bathing suit. "You guys look so cute." She says, getting her phone and snapping a few pictures before Ella comes running over, with a bathing suit in one hand.

"Help me!" she says, and Alex grabs it from her, helping her wiggle her way into it. "Beautiful." Alex says, kissing her on the cheek.

Alex hears Piper cough a little from across the room and she looks up.

"Ya like?" she says, leaning into the doorframe.

Alex's eyes rake over what is in front of her. Piper is standing there is a dark teal bikini, which make her eyes pop, and her sun kissed skin is glowing. Her hair is slightly blonder than usual, from the summer sun, and it takes everything Alex has to not take her right then. If the kids weren't there, she probably would have. "Damn." Is all she says.

"Good?"

Alex nods, walking over towards her.

"Are you sure you had 2 babies less than a year ago?" she asks, putting her hands around her waist.

"Well it's not what it used to be…"; she thumbs over her scar. "But.."

"But it is amazing. Still. Actually better, I think." Alex says, pulling Piper into a kiss. "Yeah, definitely better." she finally says.

"Better than the black bikini?" Piper smiles

"So much better." And they're interrupted by a knock at the door.

Alex let's her fingernails drag across Piper's waist, "Later..." she growls out, before turning to answer the door.

Nicky walks in, "Damn Chapman. Still got it going on 3 kids later." Nicky laughs

Piper pulls on a white mesh cover up. "Thanks, Nick." She smiles, a little embarrassed.

Alex slaps Nicky's arm.

"Hey, I was just complimenting. That's all." She says.

Lorna steps in, putting an arm around Nicky's waist. "Yeah, that's all you better be doing." She says.

"Ready to go?" Alex asks, no one in particular.

"Yeah!" Ella says, running to the door. Nicky and Alex grab all the bags and towels and Lorna and Piper carry a baby each, before heading down to the water.

**Couldn't fit it all into one chapter, so this is part one, and hopefully I'll get part two posted tomorrow. Thank you for all the great reviews on the last chapter. They're amazing to get, and I can't thank you enough. Hopefully you all liked this chapter. There's definitely more to come for this little weekend get-away, so stay tuned. Thanks again for reading and reviewing! :) **


	38. Weekend Trip Part 2

Piper is laying back under the umbrella with the babies laying next to her on the towel. Nicky and Lorna are sunbathing, while Alex is in the shallows, playing with Ella. Piper watches as Ella laughs and screams in delight as Alex picks her up and sweeps her feet across the waves.

"Piper." She finally hears, and looks over at Nicky who is talking to her.

"Yeah? Sorry, what did you say, Nick?"

"If you wanna go down with them, I'll watch the babies. "Go." She smiles, sitting up. "I need to get under that umbrella anyways. Turning into a damn lobster."

Piper laughs and gets up, making her way down to Alex and Ella.

"Hey." She sneaks up behind Alex, wrapping her arms around her, laying her cheek on her back.

Alex bring her free hand down and rests in on Piper's hands that are on her stomach. "Hey, El, look." She says, turning into Piper

"Mama, play in the waves!" she yells, and Alex sets her down.

Alex and Piper each grab a hand, helping her jump over the waves. She is laughing so hard.

"Fun?" Piper asks

"Yeah!"

"Tired? Wanna take a break?" Alex asks, hoping she will say yes.

She nods and Alex yells up at Nicky, "Go and run to Nicky and take a little break, okay?" she walks her up to the dry sand, and Ella takes off towards Nicky and the umbrella, plopping down next to her. Alex walks back to Piper who is standing waist deep in the water.

She pulls her into her, and grabs her face, anchoring Piper's chin with her thumbs before pulling her into a kiss. She backs off, looking into Piper's eyes, and tucks a curl of blonde behind her ear. Alex smiles, and slides her hands down onto Piper's waist.

"So, earlier you mentioned something about "later". What exactly did you mean…" Piper trails off, shyly smiling.

"Oh, yeah. Nicky and Lorna offered to take the kids for the night, so I was thinking…a nice dinner and some alone time. Much deserved alone time." She says, putting her thumb through the tie of Piper's swim bottoms.

"Al, you're gonna make them fall off." Piper says, pushing her hand away

"Well would that really be the worst thing in the world?"

"Maybe not for you, but for everyone else on this beach, yes. It would be." Piper laughs

"Well fine then. But about later. You wanna?"

"Of course. Ella is going to be tired here in a little bit, in desperate need of a nap. I need a shower, and then we can get ready and we'll go."

"Okay" Alex smiles, pulling her in for another kiss.

After a few more hours of wave hopping, sunbathing, and sandcastles, it is clear that Ella is quickly fading, and the babies need to go in. They've been out all day. Alex and Piper even took them in the water for a little bit. They loved every minute of it.

"Hey, we can just take them now. I mean they're just gonna sleep for a while. Might as well." Nicky says, looking at Ella who is barely keeping her eyes open.

Alex looks at Piper, and then back at Nicky, "Alright, let me get their bags, and I'll bring them over in a few."

A couple minutes later, Alex and Piper drop off a very sleepy toddler and two exhausted babies, putting them down in their travel beds and Ella on Nicky and Lorna's bed.

"Have fun…" Nicky says, smirking at Alex and winking before closing the door.

Alex grabs Piper's hand, pulling her across the hall and into their room before closing the door, and pinning Piper to it, taking her lips into a passionate kiss. She catches her breath, "I've been wanting to do that all day." She says, sliding off Piper's white cover up to expose her bikini, "And that, too." She smiles.

Piper pushes her off of her, and takes her hand, leading her to the shower. She turns on the water and feels Alex's arms wrap around her waist. Alex slips a hand into her bottoms, cupping her mound. Piper moans out Alex's name, and throws her head back on Alex's shoulder. Piper wiggles out of Alex's hold and steps into the shower, turning to beckon her with her finger. Alex takes off her cover up and bathing suit before walking in to join her. She grabs the ties of Piper's bikini bottoms, and pulls them, letting them fall into a pile on the shower floor. She easily takes off her top, tossing it behind her, and cupping Piper's breasts, pressing her into the wall of the shower, letting her hands roam all over her. She bites and sucks at her neck as Piper runs her hands through Alex's hair.

Alex hands travel down her waist, to her hips, and down the inside of her thighs, making Piper moan out in frustration. "Al, please." She breathlessly moans out.

Alex kisses a trail from her neck, down her sternum, down her stomach, nipping at her hip bone, and falling to her knees, placing kisses down the inside of Piper's thigh. She lifts her leg over her shoulder, and kisses the sensitive skin where Piper's thigh and center meet. She steadies her hips, pressing them to the wall before licking a straight line up her center.

"So fucking good." Alex moans out. She looks up to see the veins in Piper's throat as her head is craned up, biting on her bottom lip to keep from screaming out Alex's name. Alex drags her teeth across Piper's most sensitive area, making her hips buck forward, but quickly they are pressed back down. She licks and sucks, and lightly hums against her center, making Piper moan out things that aren't even real words. Alex feels two hands twist in her hair and tug, and she winces, but doesn't miss a beat. She inserts two fingers, making Piper gasp out and Alex can feel how close she is.

"Come for me, Pipes." Alex breathes out in between her motions

Piper holds on for another minute. "ALEX!" she yells out, arching her back and digging her heel into Alex's hand, pressing her deeper into her center. Alex brings her down fro her earth shattering high, and gently pulls out of her.

She stands back up, kissing Piper, who has still yet to catch her breath.

Piper rests her forehead on Alex's chest, panting.

"Almost 20 years later and I can still make you scream my name." Alex smirks, impressed with herself.

Piper smiles, kissing her chest, and her pulling her face to hers for another kiss.

"Oh yeah? You think I can't make you do that same?"

"Well I doub—" she's cut off by Piper slipping two fingers into her.

"Yeah, that's what I thought." Piper laughs out.

They lay on the bed, chests heaving, trying to steady their breaths. Piper rolls on top of Alex, folding her arms and resting her chin on her stomach.

"I take this as we aren't going out for dinner." She says smiling, and placing a kiss on her stomach

Alex runs her hands through Piper's hair, "Probably not" she laughs

"Room service?"

"That would be great."

Piper picks up the phone and orders them burgers and champagne.

"Real classy Pipes. Burgers and champagne." She smiles

"I try."

They lay there, catching up on everything that they hadn't talk about in a while, and then talking about things that don't even matter, but they're content to do that all night. There's a knock on the door, and Piper grabs the closest t shirt she find, and walks to the door. The man's eyes go wide, as the messy haired blonde answers the door, taking the food and tipping him.

Piper turns to see Alex laughing hysterically.

"What is so funny? That guy gave me the weirdest look."

"Maybe you should look in the mirror." Alex laughs.

Piper looks and her hair is all over the place, the t shirt isn't very concealing of anything, and she has two hickeys on her neck. "Oh my God, Al! I can't believe you let me answer the door like that." She yells, rubbing the red marks on her neck.

"Oh come on, you look hot." She says, sitting cross legged on the bed. Piper sets the food down, and Alex pops the bottle. "No glasses, so to make this even classier, we will drink straight from the bottle." She says, taking a sip.

They sit, eating their food and sipping on champagne.

"Want to watch a movie?"

"Uh, yeah, that sounds good." Piper says

They look through the on demand selection, and settle on _Titanic_, because it's always been one of Piper's favorite, and Alex really didn't have a say in the choice. If it was up to her, they'd be watching _Kill Bill_ or something, but a romance movie will do. Piper settles into Alex's arms, and cuddles herself into hers.

By the end of the movie, Piper is sniffling, and Alex can't help but laugh at how much of a romantic sap she is.

"It's such bullshit, there was room on the float for them both."

"That's not the point. He saved her, he let her live. He let her have it." She says

"Well I'm just saying, if we were there, your ass would've been letting me float on that door with you. You could've laid on top of me…I could've kept warm." She says, running her hand under the loose t shirt.

"Oh yeah? And how would you have done that."

"Like this…she trails off."

"Oh, I see-" and she is cut off by Alex's advances

They make love until they're both too tired to move and they fall asleep, tangled in sheets and limbs, only to be woken up by Nicky banging on the door at 10 am.

"Hey Lovebirds! You two stop what your doing, and get out here and get your kids."

Alex and Piper laugh and get up.

"Vacations over." Alex smiles, kissing Piper.

**So that's part 2. A little family time at the beach, and a little bit of smut and fluff. Hopefully you all enjoyed it. Thank you so much for the reviews on the last chapter- they mean a lot. I am basically done with finals, and am heading home on Thursday, so hopefully I'll have a lot of time to write and create some more story lines for these two to follow over the month long break. Honestly, I'm not really sure where this story ends, and I guess I'll keep writing until you guys feel it's time to stop.**

**I've contemplated making other fics, but I really don't know. If I get an idea of another story, I might go with it. I'm playing around with the idea of a Vauseman Christmas story, but not sure if I'm going to do it. If I did, it wouldn't be very long, and I would upload all the chapters on Christmas Day. If that's something you'd be interested, then maybe I can work something out. Only if there's interest though...like I said, it's just an idea.**

**As always, thanks for reading! :) **


	39. In The Middle of the Night

Piper snaps out of sleep when she hears footsteps coming down the hall. They're little footsteps. Then she doesn't just hear the footsteps, she hears crying.

Ella walks through the door way and straight to Piper's side.

"El, what wrong?" She say, grabbing her and pushing her hair back. She stops her hand. "You're burning up." She says, with her hand on Ella's forehead.

She takes her other hand and nudges Alex. "Al. Wake up."

She lets out a tired moan and pushes her hand away, trying to roll away.

Piper shoves her this time. "Seriously, Alex. Wake up."

Alex's eyes open at the serious tone of Piper's voice. Everything is foggy when she first wakes up, but then it clears, and she hears Ella's crying, too. She quickly sits up, and looks over. Piper pulls Ella up onto the bed.

"What the hell?" she says, grabbing her glasses off the nightstand and finally seeing them, as Piper turns on the light. "Baby, what's wrong?" she asks, grabbing Ella and pulling her into her.

"She's got a fever." Piper says, rubbing Ella's back as she clings to Alex, crying.

"What hurts?" Alex asks

"Ear." She says, putting her hand over her right ear.

"Poor baby. She probably has an ear infection."

Ella doesn't stop crying, in fact she cries harder, which is very unlike her, because she is usually all smiles and giggles. Alex and Piper have never seen her like this.

"Pipes, do we need to take her to the ER or something? She can't be in this much pain." Alex says, worry filling her eyes.

"No, I'll have to call the doctor in the morning and take her. I'm going to go get some Motrin and a warm compress." And she gets up, heading to the medicine cabinet.

Ella is crying loudly, and Alex is holding her. "Aw baby, it's okay. Mama's gonna make it better." She says, rubbing circles on her back, as Ella cries into Alex's t-shirt.

"Hurts." Is all Ella cries out, in between sobs.

"I know, El. Hold on, we are gonna find something to make it better."

Piper walks out a minute later with a medicine cup filled with Children's Motrin, and gives it to Alex.

"Baby, drink this. It'll help make you feel better. Okay?"

She puts the cup to her mouth and tips it back. Piper wipes the tears from Ella's face.

"I'm gonna go and heat the compress." Piper says, and Alex nods.

She lays back and rolls to her side, Ella laying next to her, clutching her ear.

"You want anything, El? Juice, water, what?"

Ella thinks for a minute before quietly saying, "Juice."

"Alright, let's go." Alex says, picking her up and carrying her to the kitchen. She plops her down on the counter, and Piper turns to her.

She brushes her hair back, "Getting some juice?"

Ella nods her head, leaning into Piper.

Piper hugs her. "It'll be okay. I'm gonna give you something to put on your ear to make it feel better." Alex set the juice cup next to Ella. "Here's some juice." Ella grabs the sippy, and take a gulp. Alex sits on the counter next to her and Ella leans into her side.

The microwave alarm goes off and Piper pulls out what looks like a little pillow, but it's filled with little beads and something that makes it smell like lavender. Polly made one for Finn a while ago, and gave us a couple for Ell and the babies.

"Here, I'm gonna put them on your ear. It will feel good." Piper says, and Ella nods. She puts the warm bag on the side of her head.

Ella's eyes close at the feeling, and she leans into it.

"Good?" Piper asks.

Ella smiles a little bit and nods.

"Aw, there's that smile. Want to go lay down in our bed?" Piper asks her, and Ella of course nods to that.

Piper grabs her, and Alex follows them to the room. Ella lays in the middle of the bed, holding the compress to her ear as she sips on her juice and Alex and Piper lay on either side of her, talking to her and also to each other.

"Feeling better, baby?" Alex asks her, running her finger over her arm.

"Yeah." She says softly.

"How does your ear feel?" Piper asks.

"Better. Not bad."

"You tired?"

"Yeah" she says

"Go night night. Okay?" Piper says, rubbing up Ella's leg.

She lays there for a while, and Piper and Alex lay there quietly, until she falls asleep.

Alex gets up and heads to the living room. Piper walks out a minute later and Alex turns on her side, facing Piper, patting the space in front of her. Piper lays down and turns to face Alex.

"Aw, I thought you were gonna be my little spoon."

Piper grabs at the hole in Alex's shirt, twisting her fingers through it, and tangling her legs with Alex's. She lays her head on the couch cushion, watching her fingers play in the fabric.

"Pipes?" Alex speaks up

"Yeah?"

"That was awful. Like really awful." Her voice cracks a little

"With Ella?"

"Yeah."

"It was hard."

"I couldn't do anything and it sucked. She was in so much pain. It was terrible. I hate seeing that. I've never seen her cry like that. I wanted to—"

"Take away the pain." Piper says, looking up at Alex, seeing the tears in her eyes.

"Yeah, I did. Seeing her like that was the worst thing ever, and I've seen a lot of bad things, but seeing your kid cry in pain beats all of it." She says, wiping a tear away.

"Al, it happens. Kids get sick. She's gonna be fine. You were there for her, that's what matters." She says, rubbing her hand over Alex's arm.

"I know. It's ridiculous that I'm even crying about this." She says, laughing a little, and pushing her glasses to the top of her head."

"No it's not. It means you care. You're a mom and you care." Piper says, kissing her hand and over her knuckles.

Alex looks down at her and brings her hand to cup her face, kissing her lips softly. She pulls away, and wipes the tears from her cheek. "I am a mess. A crying, emotional, mess."

"It's okay. You're my crying, emotional, mess." Piper smiles, laying her head into Alex's chest. Alex wraps her arm around Piper, pulling her in closer, smelling her hair, and savoring moment. She lays there, running her fingers through the ends of her hair, holding her before Piper finally moves, sitting up.

"Let's go lay with El, okay. Don't want her to wake up all alone." Piper says, holding her hand out for Alex.

"Yeah." Alex says smiling, taking her hand and walking to the bedroom, getting in next to Ella and laying there, watching her breathe.

Eventually Piper falls asleep, holding Ella's hand. And Alex drifts off, her hand resting on Ella's back.

**Sorry for the delay in update, and that this one is shorter than usual. I just want to say: 1. Thanks for your patience in waiting, and 2. thank you all for the reviews on the last chapter. They were really just great, and I appreciate every single one of them. I forgot to mention...100 Reviews and 70 followers. That's a huge deal, so thank you so much! **

**Sorry that this isn't the typical happy Vauseman chapter, until the end, but the point of this is that it's difficult sometimes, and it's not always fun and happy, and that sometimes it's a little scary being a parent, so hopefully you liked this take on it. I tried to end it off all cute, to make up for it. Anyways, thanks again to everyone for reading, and I will try my best to not miss 2 days of updates again!**


	40. Pictures

"We should do a Christmas cards and pictures this year." Piper says, folding laundry on the living room floor.

Aiden is sitting on the floor, playing in the clean laundry, and it takes Piper double the time to fold because she is constantly try to get him to not try and eat the clean laundry.

Alex is sitting on the couch, typing up some emails with Addie sitting in her lap, playing with the frayed end of Alex's pajama pant leg.

"Um, like a dressed up one, or a matching outfits one, or what? Because I will not be taking matching tan pants and white shirt family pictures and sending them out to anyone." She says, peering over the tops of her glasses.

Piper laughs as she folds, and looks at Alex. "Not a white shirt, tan pants, family picture. But like a Christmassy dressed up picture. A nice tree in the background, a couple of me and you, and then the babies, and Ella, and oh please, Al. It will be so cute." Piper says, using her begging voice on Alex.

"Fine. Okay. I'll do it. But I'm holding you to your word on the white and tan outfits. I hate those." She laughs.

A week later, Ella is squeezing into her sequined black leggings, and dancing around in her outfit. Alex and Piper are dressing the babies in their cute little outfits.

"So handsome. " Alex says, picking Aiden off the bed and giving him a kiss.

Piper adjusts Addie's headband, "Beautiful." She smiles, and Addie can't help but try and take it off. "No no, leave it on." Piper says, moving her hand away.

"She's gonna be trying to rip it off all night." Alex laughs.

They walk into the living room, which the photographer they hired, Allison James, has transformed into, as Alex so lovingly called it, "A fucking life-sized snow globe."

"Okay, so I guess we can do the family photo first." She smiles, and tells everybody where to sit.

Two babies and an extremely energetic toddler are definitely difficult customers. Ella has a hard time staying in one place for very long, and the babies just want to rip bows out of their hair or pull on their mother's necklaces.

"Thank God she is patient." Alex says, adjusting Addie on her lap.

Piper runs her fingers through Aiden's hair, trying to put it back into place, but he is having none of it. "I know. I feel bad." Piper says, making a face that makes Alex laugh.

The photographer speaks up, "Okay, we got some good ones of all of you, now we just have to do the kid's pictures. So, maybe have Ella go first, single photos, and then we can add in the babies, and then do just the babies, and then each baby gets their own picture. Sound good?"

Piper and Alex nod, getting up and moving out of the shot.

"Okay, Ella, sit right on that chair and give me a big smile."

She does, loving every bit of attention. She is a ham for the camera.

Ella does a few pictures with presents, and by the Christmas tree, and some of her just doing whatever she felt like.

"Alright, now Ella, sit on the floor." She turns to Piper and Alex, "You two go and put Aiden and Addie on each side of her…okay, great."

They get some really good group pictures, and then it's time for just the babies.

"This should be interesting…" Alex smiles, nudging Piper's ribs.

The photographer grabs a little stuffed reindeer and dances it around, to get the babies' attention.

They stare, wide eyed, and then start laughing.

She puts the camera on rapid fire, taking a ton of pictures. "I think we got it. All we have now is each baby's picture to do."

Ella gets up and skips over to the couch, plopping down, and putting her feet on the coffee table. Alex walk over, picking up Aiden and leaving Addie sitting on the floor.

The photographer does the same thing with the reindeer, and does a few angles and poses.

"Alright, now Aiden's turn, and Piper bring him over and takes Addie away.

"You did good, baby." She says, taking off the headband and kissing her cheek.

Aiden does this cute smile and gives a grin that makes everyone laugh and before they know it, they have their pictures.

"Okay, so I got them all. I'll go back and put some touches on them and send them over, and you can pick the ones you want and I'll get them to you." She says, breaking down her camera tripod.

"Thank you so much for coming out. We really appreciate it." Piper says, holding out for a handshake.

"Oh it was fun. Your kids are beautiful."

"Thank you." Alex and Piper both say.

"You're welcome. Really, I had a good time. Thanks for having me. Like I said, I'll send you the pictures by the middle of this week and then you can get back to me."

"Sounds good."

"Alrighty, well bye Ella, Aiden, and Addie." She says, waving at them, and Alex gets the door for her.

Piper looks at Alex, who is walking from the door. "So, what do you think?"

"It wasn't so bad." Alex smiles

"Yeah? I told you."

"I know. And these babies. Oh my goodness. So cute." She says, tickling Aiden's stomach.

"Right?! Little dresses and bows. Ugh, they looked adorable."

"I need to get out of this dress." Alex says, handing Aiden over to Piper, leaving her standing there with both babies.

"Ready to get out of these clothes, guys?" she says, looking at both of them. "El, what are you doing?" she asks.

"Coloring" Ella says, turning towards her

"Okay, I'm gonna go give the babies a bath, so if you want, you can come and sit in my room."

"Okay." She says, smiling and grabbing her box of crayons and paper

Alex walks out in sweat pants and a t shirt, with her hair pulled back into a bun.

"I'm gonna give them a bath. Want to help?"

"Yeah." She says, taking Addie and smiling.

Piper runs the water and they put the babies in.

"We should do pictures every year." Alex says, rubbing shampoo into Addie's hair.

"Yeah, you think so?"

"Yeah, I didn't think I'd want to do them, but they were good. I think we need to do them every year."

"I'd love to. I mean, they aren't gonna be little forever, and I want to have those memories, and be able to look at them. I mean, Jesus, they're gonna be a year old in a month." She says, shaking her head

"I know. My babies aren't gonna be babies for much longer." Alex says, making a pouting face as she rinses Addie's hair.

"Crazy right? Where did the time go?"

"Hell if I know." Alex sighs

"All clean!" Piper smiles at Aiden, grabbing the monkey printed towel behind her and pulling the plug in the tub before picking him up.

They change them into their PJ's and put them to bed.

"El you want to take a bath now or in the morning?" Alex asks her.

"Morning." She says, looking up from her drawing.

"Alright, cool. So, what are you drawing?" Alex sits cross-legged down next to her.

"Christmas." She says, focusing on each swipe of the crayon

"Oh yeah?"

She nods her head.

"Are you excited about Christmas?" Piper asks, as she sits down next to Alex, who pulls her into her lap.

"Yeah!"

"Well what do you want for Christmas?"

"Toys!"

"What kinds of toys?"

Ella goes on to name about a dozen things she wants.

"Well Santa can probably work those out." Alex says, tangling her fingers with Piper's, playing with her wedding ring.

"All done!" Ella says, picking up the paper.

"Let us see." Piper smiles

Ella turns around the pictures and shows off her drawing.

"It's us" Ella smiles, pointing out a tall dark haired stick figure, obviously Alex; and then a blonde, Piper; two tiny babies, and then a blonde figure wearing a very decorative dress.

"Is that you?" Alex asks, pointing to the person in the dress

"Yeah! I had to have a princess dress." Ella smiles big

"I love it. It is beautiful." Piper says "We can hang it up, okay?"

Ella nods her head excitedly and dashes out of the room.

"Such a little diva." Alex laughs

"I wonder where she gets it from…" Piper says, looking away because she definitely knows the answer.

"Oh yeah? I can tell you it isn't me. I know exactly where she got it from." Alex says, squeezing Piper tighter, and then tickling her sides.

Piper laughs, "Al stop!" she chokes out

"Not until you say you are a diva."

"Okay! I'm a diva!" she says, and Alex stops tickling her. At this point they are laying on the floor, both trying to catch their breath. Ella runs back in and climbs onto Alex's side, trying to get in on the fun. Alex flips her over, so she lands across Piper's stomach.

"There I got both of you." Alex smiles at them.

A couple of days later, Piper checks her email.

**Hey Piper, these are the pictures. They came out really great. Pick the ones you want, and I'll put together a package and send them, plus the electronic codes for them. -Allison James, Photographer**

"Al, oh my God. Come and look at the pictures." Piper says, and Alex walks up behind her to look at the screen.

Piper clicks through some and they really are great. The ones of the babies are just to die for, and then Ella's pictures are gorgeous. Piper stops at the family picture and sighs a little.

"Al, this one is beautiful." She says, looking up at her.

Alex nods her head. "Yeah, it's perfect." She smiles, looking at their first complete family picture.

**Hopefully you all liked this chapter. It was a lot of fun to write. Thanks for all the great reviews on the last chapter. They mean a lot, so thank you very much. **

**Also, Chapter 40. Wow, never expected to have written something that's 40 chapters. It's insane, and I want to thank all of you for sticking with me and reading. Your support and encouragement means a lot, and I can't thank you enough. Hopefully you continue to stay with me, and follow this story. Thanks again for reading!**


	41. Merry Christmas

6:47 am, Piper looks at the alarm clock on the night stand when she hears running coming down the hall. A flash of blonde hair and Christmas pajamas climbs onto the bench at the end of the bed and then scrambles up in between her and Alex.

"Santa came!" Ella yells, and Piper sits up.

Alex pulls the pillow over her head, and tries to block out the excited toddler for just a few more minutes of sleep.

"Morning, El." Piper says in her tired voice, pulling her into a hug and kiss.

"Get up!" Ella says, bouncing on her knees on the bed.

"5 more minutes" Alex grumbles out.

"Oh Al, come on. Get up. It's Christmas." She says, leaning over and pulling the dark hair away form her neck and placing a couple of kisses there. Alex inhales sharply at the hot breath on her neck, and rolls over. Before she knows it, Ella is in her lap, face to face.

"Okay. Personal space." Alex says, scooting back to the headboard, but Ella doesn't care. She wraps her arms around her neck, burying her face in Alex's shoulder. "Mommy, get up!"

Piper watches them for a second, and then gets out of bed. She holds out her arms for Ella, who basically leaps into them. "I'm gonna go and make some coffee." She says, and walks out the door.

Alex gets up and heads to the twins room where they are both standing, smiling in their cribs. "Good morning" she says, giving them both kisses before taking them out and changing them, and then putting on their Christmas pajamas that Piper had gone out and bought a couple of weeks ago. "Aw, perfect!" she says, before picking them up and heading to the living room.

"Look who got up to say Merry Christmas." Alex says, walking to Piper and Ella who are standing in the kitchen.

"Oh my goodness." Piper says, taking Addie from Alex. "Oh Al, I can't they're too cute." She says, looking a the fuzzy reindeer on Addie's shirt, and the Santa on Aiden's.

"Let's get presents!" Ella says, tugging at the hem of Piper's shirt.

"Okay, okay." Piper says, and Ella runs over to the overflow of perfectly wrapped boxes. Alex sits down on the couch and lets Aiden stand in between her legs, balancing. Piper passes her a present and she helps him unwrap it. He's more fascinated with the torn wrapping paper than the toy truck that was inside of it.

Ella is tearing through it all. Dolls, clothes, and stuffed animals. She can't contain her excitement, and her smile is taking over her entire face.

Aiden and Addie sit in the sea of ribbons, wrapping paper, and bows while Ella plays with all of her new toys.

"El, you get everything you wanted?" Piper asks, looking over all the toys she has thrown across the living room.

"Yeah!" she says, still overwhelmed by all that's happened. "Where is you and Mommy's presents?" she asks

"Uh, well I can go and get Mommy's really quick." Piper says, smiling at Alex who is sipping on a steaming cup of coffee. She gets up and walks out of the room to the bedroom.

"Hey Ella, go behind the tree and get the 2 bags, and there is a box. The sparkly ones." Alex says, and she goes and grabs them. "Oh wait, one more thing." Alex says, getting up and going behind the tree and grabbing a big square shaped present.

Piper comes walking out with a wrapped box, and hands it to Alex. "Merry Christmas" she says with a smile.

"Thank you baby" Alex says, giving her a kiss. "Open yours first."

Piper goes for the first bag and pulls out a small box and opens it. "Oh Al, it's beautiful." She says, taking the ring out of the box and slipping it on her finger. "I love it."

She moves to bag two and pulls out a gorgeous winter coat. "Wait, is this the one from when we were downtown last month?" Piper says, holding it up and raking her eyes over it.

Alex nods, "Yeah, you talked about it all evening, so I knew you really loved it." She smiles.

She picks up the box and opens it. It is some of Piper's favorite things. Candles, chocolates, bath salts. She pulls out a CD. "Wait, Al, did you make me a mix?" Piper says smiling ear to ear.

"Well of course I did. Throwing it back to when we first met. Bubble baths and mix CDs." She smiles

"Oh my God, this is perfect." Piper says, pulling her face to hers and capturing her lips in a kiss.

"Alright, last thing." Alex says, handing Piper the large rectangular shaped present.

Piper pulls back the wrapping paper and slides it off a large picture frame. Her eyes go wide. "Oh my God, this is beautiful." She says, looking over the frame.

"I figured we could hang it somewhere." Alex says.

"Lemme see, Mama!" Ella says, and Piper turns the frame around.

It's their family picture. Alex had it framed, so they could hang it up.

"I love it. Thank you." Piper smiles. "Okay, your turn. I hope you love it!"

"I'm sure I will, Pipes." Alex says, running her fingers under the edge of the box to get the top off. She pulls it off and sets it to the side. She pulls back the tissue paper. She stares for a minute before her mouth falls open and she looks up at Piper.

"No." she says

"Yes. It's always you who surprises me with romantic trips, and since we are coming up on 20 years, I figured it was my turn so, June 2, you better be ready."

"Are you serious, Pipes? Cambodia?"

"We loved Cambodia." Piper smiles. "Merry Christmas, baby." And Alex kisses her.

The oven timer goes off, and Piper pulls away from Alex's lips to get the cinnamon buns out. Ella follows her so she can help put the icing on, and Alex lays on the floor with the babies, letting them crawl all over her, still in shock over the fact they're going to Cambodia.

By noon, the babies are ready for their nap, and Ella is busy watching a Disney movie she got for Christmas. Piper sits on Alex's lap, wrapped in her arms.

"Merry Christmas, Al."

"Merry Christmas." Alex kisses her neck.

Piper turns and whispers to her. "I have another present for you...but you can't open it in front of the kids."

Alex raises her eyebrows. "Oh yeah?"

"Yeah, we'll save it for tonight." she winks at Alex

Alex breathes in, "I love Christmas." Alex smiles

**Little bit of a tease there at the end, but I hope you liked the chapter. Thanks for all the great reviews on the last chapter. Some exciting things coming up for them. Thanks again for reading!**


	42. Year OneDone

Alex wakes up to an empty bed, which is not something she is used to since Piper very rarely gets up before her. She gets up and makes her way down the hall and sees Piper standing in the kitchen, hovered over the oven.

She waits until the oven is shut before she sneaks up behind her and wraps her in a hug.

Piper jumps at the sudden contact, but quickly calms down when she feels Alex's lips on her neck. "Morning." She hears the sleepy dark haired woman whisper in her ear.

"Morning." She says back, turning and capturing her lips in a kiss before turning back to what she was doing.

Alex goes and leans into the kitchen counter. "What are you making?" she asks, rubbing her eyes.

"Birthday cakes." Piper says, turning around with two circle shaped cakes in her hands.

"Oh right. They're each getting their own cake."

"Well yeah, they're two different people, so they get two different cakes." Piper smiles.

"Alright, I get it."

"Can you believe it?" Piper asks, setting her oven mitts on the counter as she turns around to face Alex.

"What? That they're getting two cakes?" she asks, swirling her finger in the left over batter in the bowl.

"Not that. That it's been a year."

"No. I can't believe it. Babies aren't babies anymore. Trying to walk and saying words…well sometimes words. Mostly just a string of things that are trying to pass for words." She smiles, licking the batter off her finger.

Piper smiles, "The baby smell is gone." Piper makes a sad face.

"I know. Our only hope of baby smell being around again is if Nicky and Lorna would get on and take the plunge already." She laughs.

"You think they will?" Piper asks "I mean, I know they've talked about it, and all, but do you think they really will?"

Alex nods, "Yeah, I do."

"Well I know someone who definitely will not be doing the whole baby thing all over again." Piper says, smoothing out her shirt.

Alex looks up at her. "Oh for sure. We are done. So done. Three is plenty."

Piper nods, "Okay, so people are coming over at 12. So we need to clean up a little." She points at Ella's trail of toys in the living room. "And I need to make the food, and get everything together." She says, opening the fridge and taking things out.

Alex turns when she hears slow footsteps coming down the hall.

Ella comes walking out in her Disney pajamas, her favorite stuffed puppy dangling from her fingertips.

"Morning El" Alex says, and Ella gives her a sleepy smile.

Piper gives her a kiss good morning, and she walks over to Alex, whose legs are dangling off the counter. Alex lifts her into her lap where Ella curls into a ball, burying her head into her stuffed dog.

"Sleep good?" Alex asks, trying to tame her blonde mane that is everywhere at the moment. She nods, still trying to wake up.

"You know what today is?" Piper asks.

"Um…" she pauses and thinks for a minute. "Babies' birthday?" She says

"Yep, and everyone is coming over. Red, Nicky, Lorna, Aunt Polly, Finn, and some other people."

Ella smiles. She loves when they have people over.

"El, you want some cereal?" Piper asks, and Ella excitedly nods. Piper pours her a bowl and Alex lets her down.

"I'm gonna go and get them up. They're probably ready anyways.

Alex slowly opens the door, only to be greeted by two smiling faces standing in their cribs.

"Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday Aiden and Addie. Happy Birthday to you." She sings as she walks to each of them giving them kisses before taking them out of their beds. She changes them and walks out to the see Piper and Ella sitting on the couch, talking about something that has to do with princesses.

Alex catches Piper's eye, and she looks to see her carrying the twins who have smiles across their faces.

Alex sets them down next to Piper.

Piper does the same thing Alex does, and sings Happy Birthday to them.

Ella sets her empty bowl down and gives them both kisses.

"Very exciting day, guys." Alex says, making their breakfast as they sit in their high chairs.

A couple of hours later, Polly walks in, Finn trailing behind her carrying two sets of presents.

"Hey Pol. Hey Finn." Piper says, keeping her eyes focused on what she's doing.

"It smells amazing in here." She says, taking off her coat and hanging it up. "Finn just put those down on the table." And he goes and puts them down.

Ella runs over to Polly.

"Hey Ella." She says, giving her a hug.

"Where's the Birthday Babies?" She asks and Alex passes her Addie. "Oh my goodness. Pipes, this outfit. It's adorable." She says, smoothing down the edge of the shirt.

"Hey, Finn. Long time no see." Alex smiles as he sits on the couch next to Aiden. "Did you have a good Christmas?"

"Yeah, got a new bike and some other cool stuff." He says

"Nice. So, when do you go back to school?"

"Monday." He says, his voice dropping a bit.

"Oh man, that sucks. Well, you're like half way through, so there's that." She says, trying to cheer him up.

Polly walks into the kitchen, Addie on her hip. "So Pipes, what do you need me to do?"

"Uh, you can put these on the table and make sure that the cups and plates and stuff are out." She says, trying to finish icing the second birthday cake.

Red walks in a few minutes later, bags and boxes in tow.

"Hello everybody." She says, and Ella sprints to meet her.

"Red!" she yells, crashing into her. Red kneels down and gives her a big hug.

"Hello my Ella." She says, brushing back her blonde hair.

Alex gets up, carrying Aiden, and gives Red a hug.

"And there is the birthday boy." Red says, taking him from Alex. "He's getting so big, and his hair. Gonna need a hair cut soon." She says.

"Yeah, Piper and I were talking about that the other day. It's like starting to curl on the ends." She says, running her fingers through the ends of his hair.

"Very handsome." Red smiles at him. "I brought some pastries and some drinks." She says, pointing to the bags on the floor. Alex picks them up and walks them over to the table.

Piper meets Red to give her a hug. "Hey Red." She smiles.

As they are all in the kitchen socializing, a loud voice can be heard from the hall, and there is no mistaking who that it.

"Nicky." Piper says, laughing

"We heard there was a party!" she says, opening the door and letting Lorna walk in ahead of her.

"You are never quiet." Red says, and Nicky gives her a kiss on the cheek.

"Hell no, ma. You've known me a long time. Have I ever been quiet?"

"No. Definitely not."

"And there's my nephew." Nicky says, swiping her finger over his nose. "Happy Birthday, man."

"Ella!" Piper calls. Ella has dragged Finn back to her room to look at her Barbie collection, and he is patent enough to go through with it. She comes running down the hall. "Look who's here." And Nicky shoots her a wave.

"NICKY!" she yells, practically flying into her arms.

"Hey there, blondie. It's been a while. Didn't see ya this week. Missed you."

"Yeah, Ella, Nicky was going insane without you there." Lorna speaks up.

"I'll come back. Promise" She says, reassuring Nicky with a pinky swear.

"Alright kid, I'm counting on it." She says, putting her down and she takes off back to her room. "God, she kills me every time." Nicky laughs.

Nicky, Lorna, and Red sit on the couch with the babies, catching up while Alex helps Piper and Polly get everything put together.

They hear knocking on the door, and Lorna goes to answer it.

"Hey!" a loud voice says, and in walks Taystee, Poussey, and Janae.

"Hey guys. Good to see you. Thanks for coming." Piper says, giving them all hugs. "Janae, it's been a long time."

"Yeah, finally out." She smiles.

"That's great. I'm glad. Well make yourself at home, get some food."

"Hey Alex." Poussey says, taking a seat on an empty chair. "So, which one is this?"

"This is Addie. And that is Aiden over there. Ella is back in her room playing with her dolls."

"Haven't seen Ella since she was like a little baby." Taystee says

"Well I'm sure she will be out here in a minute. The girl loves her attention." Alex laughs, letting Addie stand on the ground as she holds her hands.

"They're gonna be walking in no time." Nicky says

"I know. Aiden goes from place to place, nothing too far, just little steps. She doesn't really do all of that, but I figure in a couple months they'll be zooming around."

"So you and Piper have 3?" Janae says

"Yeah, Ella and the twins."

"Wow."

Ella and Finn come walking out, her dragging him by his sleeve, Disney doll in the other hand.

"Is that Ella?" Poussey asks, surprised at how big she has gotten.

"Yep, El, come say hi."

"Hi." She says, going over to each person she doesn't recognize.

"Wow, she's gorgeous." Taystee says

"Thank you." Alex smiles

"Alright, everyone. Let's go ahead and do cake and ice cream." Piper says, waving everyone into the dining room.

They sing Happy Birthday, setting out the cakes.

The twins are overwhelmed by all the people and the two cakes in front of them.

Lorna takes pictures and Nicky helps pass out slices. Everyone scatters all over the living room and dining room, talking, catching up, reminiscing, and opening gifts.

Trains, toy cars, stuffed animals, and practically a whole new wardrobe are given to the twins by the end of the party.

"They are done." Alex says, looking at the two sleeping babies laying on their nap mat.

"Yeah, they're not the only ones." Polly says, pointing to Finn who is propped up against the couch, snoozing, and Ella who is leaning into him.

"She loves her Finn." Piper says smiling.

"He is so good with her. Very patient." Red says

"Alright, well we are going to head out. Thank you so much for having us. It was a lot of fun." Taystee says, and Poussey and Janae stand up. Everybody says their goodbyes and they leave.

Red, Piper, Polly, and Lorna start cleaning up dishes and putting food away while Alex and Nicky pick up all the trash in the living room, careful not to wake anybody.

They all settle back onto the couch, laughing and talking.

"Hey, so kids are out. It's 5 o'clock…let's have a drink." Nicky says, smiling

"Uh, well we have wine, and vodka, and scotch…" Alex says, looking over at the glass liquor cabinet.

"I'll take a glass of wine." Polly says

"Me too…" Lorna says

"Um, scotch." Nicky says

"Babe, I'll take a vodka and sprite, please." Piper smiles

"I'm good. Nothing for me." Red says, Alex brings over 2 glasses and a bottle of red wine for Lorna and Polly.

"A vodka and sprite for Piper." She passes her a glass. "And scotch for Nicky and I." she says, giving Nicky a short glass with ice and pouring in some scotch.

"Oh yeah, now it's a party." Nicky says after tossing back her drink.

"You want a refill?" Lorna asks Polly after she finishes her glass.

"No thanks. I actually should head home, just have to wake Finn up."

"If you want, he can stay and you can get him tomorrow." Piper says.

"You sure?"

"Yeah, he hasn't stayed in a while."

"Okay, well he's basically in pajamas already with those sweatpants and tshirt." She says "I guess I'll come by tomorrow and get him. Thanks, guys." She says, giving everyone a hug goodbye and walking out the door.

Nicky pours herself another glass and moves closer to Lorna.

"Oh no. 2 glasses in and she is already getting comfortable." Lorna laughs, grabbing Nicky's hand that has moved to the hem of her shirt. "Okay, no more for you." She says, taking the glass, and Nicky nods.

"Who knew Nichols was such a light weight." Alex laughs

"Damn scotch messes me up quick." She laughs

"You guys took a cab, right?" Piper asks

"Yeah." Lorna says, setting down her glass of wine. "I'm gonna go call a cab and then we'll head home."

"Alright." Alex says.

Piper moves next to Alex and leans into her, grabbing her thigh with her free hand. Alex puts her arm around her.

20 minutes later, Nicky gets in the cab and Lorna thanks Piper and Alex for having them before it pulls off the curb.

"It's only 9 and I am exhausted." Alex says, pulling a blanket over her and Piper.

"Well Ella is in her crib. The twins are asleep, and Finn has the pullout couch, so everybody is good. We can crash." She says, snuggling into Alex's side.

Alex turns into her and tucks a blonde strand behind her ear before she takes off her glasses and sets them on the night stand. "So, we did it. A whole year with a toddler and two babies."

"Yeah we did. And we kicked ass." Piper says

"I guess we did, didn't we?"

"We totally did."

"It wasn't so bad, was it?" Alex says, looking into Piper's eyes

"No, it wasn't bad. Wasn't bad at all." She smiles, kissing Alex.

"We made it. Now all we have to get through is 3 toddlers." Alex laughs

"Yeah, that should be interesting." Piper laughs, and Alex puts her arm around her pulling her in closer.

**Hey, so sorry for the delay in the update. I am home for winter break which means that I am out in the middle of nowhere, and our power was out last night. So, apologies for the wait. Hopefully you all liked this chapter. Not much happening, but I'm saving the excitement for the next few chapters because...Cambodia! It's going to span over a few chapters which means there will be an absence of the Little Vauses for a bit. **

**Also, thank you for all the reviews on the last chapter. They were great. Thanks again for reading! :)**


	43. I Love Cambodia

Alex's alarm goes off. 4:40 am. One a normal day, Alex would feel a little bit dead, and have no motivation to get up, but today is different. She gets up quickly and throws on a t shirt and a pair of leggings. She walks over to Piper's side of the bed and sits down, pushing the hair back from her face and kissing her lightly on the cheek.

"Pipes, get up." She whispers, brushing her cheek with her thumb

Piper groans, and tries to pull the covers up over her head, but Alex is sitting on them, so they don't budge.

"Pipes…Cambodia." She says, and the blonde opens her eyes. A small smile creeps onto her face.

"I love Cambodia." She says

"Me too. So let's go catch our flight. Okay?" Alex smiles at her.

Luggage rolling down the hall, Piper searching the closet and rooms to make sure she has everything.

"We are gonna be late." Alex says "Bags and kids are in the car." She says, holding the apartment door open, motioning for Piper to hurry up.

One quick look around, and Piper walks out the door and to the car.

"Addie and Aiden are going to Nicky and Lorna's, and Ella is going to Polly's." Alex says.

"And we are going to Cambodia." Piper grabs Alex's hand, trailing her thumb across the top.

They drop Ella off first who really too tired to do much of anything, but they say their goodbyes and leave.

Alex and Piper carry the twins and their bags up the stairs to Nicky and Lorna's, and after a few tears they get back in the car.

They make it through security and to their terminal, waiting for their flight.

"First class to Siem Reap is now boarding." And Alex and Piper get on the plane, and settle into the big cushioned seats and order drinks.

After too many movies and drinks to count they finally touchdown in Cambodia.

A private plane is waiting for them to take the quick 50 minute flight to the resort.

After the quick flight, they finally arrive at Song Saa Private Island Resort.

"Oh my God, Al, it is beautiful here." Piper says, taking her hand

"Ladies, we will be taking you to your hut. Just get on the trolley over there and you will be there in a few minutes. We will bring your luggage." A man in a white resort shirt says.

"Thank you." They says, boarding the trolley.

A quick ride to a private lagoon area reveals a house overlooking the ocean. An infinity pool with a sitting area out back. They walk in the front door.

"Holy shit, Pipes. This is amazing." Alex says, her jaw practically hitting the floor.

Dark hardwood floors throughout, a white canopy bed overlooking the ocean, a living room with a wraparound couch, and a stainless steel kitchen.

"Worth the 21 hour flight?" Piper asks, wrapping her arms around Alex's waist and laying her cheek against her back.

"Yes, totally worth the 21 hour flight." Alex says, turning around and grabbing both sides of her face, kissing her.

They're interrupted by a knock at the door and then one of the employees bringing in their luggage. Alex and Piper go to help unload, and he leaves a few minutes later.

"So where were we?" Alex says, grabbing Piper's waist

"I think you were about to thank me for being the best wife ever and taking you to Cambodia." Piper smiles, kissing her softly

"Oh yeah…that's what it was." She smiles, kissing Piper back, and running her hands up her side. She brings her hands down to the hem of Piper's shirt and lifts it over her head. Her nimble fingers quickly unclasp her bra, and she tosses it to the side. She feels Piper's fingers working at the buttons on her shirt, and then she pulls it off her shoulders, letting it fall to the floor.

Alex pulls away from the kiss and grabs Piper's hands, leading her to the bedroom. She lays her back on the bed, hovering over top of her, kissing every bit of exposed skin she can. Her collarbones, neck, chest, between her breasts, giving them each the attention they need before she kisses a trail down her stomach. She grabs the edge of Piper's yoga pants and pulls them off. She kisses the edge of Piper's laced underwear and nips at the skin just above them, before she takes those off, too. She kisses up Piper's legs. Ankles, calves, thighs, and then the sensitive skin where her thigh meets her center she traces with her tongue, making Piper moan and lift her hips.

"Al-" she breathes out, having a hard time waiting for what's to come.

Alex slides her further up onto the bed and lays in between her legs, continuing her assault on her breasts, and then her stomach as her fingers graze the underside of her calves, and eventually picks one up so that she can set it over her shoulder. She places her hands on the lower part of Piper's back, lifting her slightly.

The blonde is soaked, and she can barely contain herself with Alex's hot breath just inches from her center.

She is about to beg when she feels a kiss on her center. Alex's tongue dives in, causing Piper to moan out.

"Oh Alex" she says, her head pressing hard into the feather-top mattress, and gripping the sheets.

Alex takes two fingers and thrusts them in, making Piper's hands shoot to tangle in her hair as she moans out again. Her thumb circles her bundle of nerves, making Piper's hips buck again, and Alex quickly presses them down. She continues curling, and thrusting her fingers, eventually adding a third, making Piper scream out her name and pull on her hair roughly. She can feel Piper tightening around her. She hits that spot deep within Piper and she comes undone. Alex works her down from her high, continuing to curl her fingers, and she eventually pulls out. Alex licks her fingers and then Piper clean, making her way back up to Piper, who is trying to catch her breath.

Piper tucks Alex's hair behind her ear, and moves her hand to the back of her neck, pulling her lips to hers. She looks into her eyes, searching them for a minute before Alex smiles.

"What's so funny" Piper asks

"Oh nothing. I was just thinking that it's really good that we are not near any neighbors, because they would probably be hating us while we are here." She laughs, kissing Piper and biting gently on her lip as she pulls away.

"Oh I am not that loud." Piper says back

"Please. You were practically shaking these walls. Don't get me wrong, I find it very hot, and take it as a compliment." She laughs

"Cocky bitch." Piper says, shoving her.

"Well what can I say? I'm just that good."

"Trust me, Al, you are just as loud."

"Am not."

"Oh come on. You are too."

"When is that last time you had me screa—" she starts to ask, but it stopped when she feels Piper's hand slip through the waistband of her pants, and feels her slender fingers open her up...

"What was that?" Piper says, smirking a little.

"Oh shut up and fuck me." Alex says breathlessly, crashing her lips into Piper's.

**Well they finally made it to Cambodia. I did a little bit of research and looked up the resort, and it is really beautiful. You should check it out. It is now on my list of places to go...along with Bora Bora Bora. ;)**

**Hopefully you all liked this chapter. Not really sure exactly how many chapters this trip will span over. Probably 3 more. A bit of smut to get the trip started is always the way to go, in my opinion. Thank you again for reading! **


	44. I Heart You

The warm breeze coming through the open window wakes Piper up, and the smell of the salty ocean fills the room. She is tangled in Alex's limbs and the twisted bed sheets. She grabs her phone off the night stand. June 4, 11:23 AM. They're Wedding Anniversary, and 20 years since they met that night in that bar.

They never sleep in this late, but there was a lot of traveling yesterday and then their antics that lasted until the early hours of the morning didn't help their exhaustion.

She looks over at Alex who's dark hair looks even darker against the white sheets. She is fast asleep, post sex hair making her look extremely sexy, and Piper just stares for a few minutes.

She looks around. Underwear, bras, pants, all thrown across the room, and she smiles. Last night was good. So good. She focuses back on Alex and how the light from outside hits her skin, and so she gently runs her finger tips over her smooth skin, making goosebumps form. Alex breathes in and opens her eyes, showing off the green that sparkles in the light.

"Morning baby." She says, in her deep sleepy voice that sends chills down Piper's spine.

"Happy Anniversary" Piper says, smiling and pulling her into a kiss.

Piper moves so that she is straddling Alex's waist. Alex rests her hands on her waist. Piper kisses her jawline, down her neck, biting down just enough to make Alex hiss.

"I am going to show you how much I love you." Piper says, continuing her assault on to her shoulder and over her collarbones. Her hands take Alex's breasts and massage them, causing her to moan. She swallows down the moan, kissing her passionately.

Piper's hand slides down her stomach, scraping lightly with her nails, and cups her mound. Alex's throws her head back and Piper places open mouth kisses on her neck, nipping gently.

Alex's eyes open when she feels two fingers open her up and slide up and down her center before plunging into her. Piper finds a steady rhythm as she kisses Alex harder and faster. She grabs her hand, locks their fingers, and brings it over her head, continuing her motions.

Alex can barely breathe as she feel her stomach start to tighten. Piper lets go of her hands and make her way down to replace her fingers with her mouth, trusting with her tongue. Her teeth rake over Alex's most sensitive spot, and Piper knows she is close.

She hooks her arm around Alex's thigh, giving herself more room. She can feel her legs shaking, and after a minute, Alex is sent flying over the edge, arching her back and moaning Piper's name.

After working Alex down from her climax, Piper wipes her lips on her forearm and brings herself back up to Alex, resting her chin on her chest and just looking at her wife who is flushed and gasping for air. She can't help but be a bit proud of the state she's left her in.

After a few minutes Alex catches her breath.

"Happy Anniversary to you too." She smiles, pulling Piper up to her so she can kiss her.

"Sooo, what do you want to do today?" she says, smiling a little

"Well I think at some point we can go for round two, three, and maybe if you're lucky 4 of what we just did. I'm really fine with staying in this hut with you all day." She says, pushing Piper's messy hair out of her face.

"Yeah? You sure you don't want to go and dive or anything. We can go swimming, hiking, whatever. You name it and we can do it."

"Well how about I order breakfast, and we sit by the pool, and then maybe later we can go to the waterfall that I saw on the way in…"

"Okay, let's do that." Piper says.

Alex gets out of bed and orders breakfast. Pancakes, fresh fruit in all sort of decorative designs, fresh juice, and champagne are brought by a little while later and they eat by the pool, soaking in the sun and lounging on the padded seating area under a canopy.

"I'll be right back." Piper says, kissing Alex and walking into the house.

A few minutes later she comes walking out in a coral colored bikini that is stunning with her skin tone.

"You look amazing." Alex says, looking up at her from the lounge chair.

"Thanks, babe. Now go and get yours on." She smiles as she steps into the pool.

Alex comes walking out in a navy blue one piece that is low cut, showing off her cleavage which makes Piper very happy. The back is not solid, and shows her skin.

"Well when did you get this one?" Piper asks, helping Alex into the pool.

"The other day…you like?"

"I love it." She says, kissing her and raking her eyes over the swimsuit. They sit on the stairs, sipping champagne and talking about everything.

Piper is sitting on the steps, leaning up against the edge with Alex sitting under the tent made by her knees. She strokes her shin.

"This is the first alone vacation we have had since Miami…" Alex says

"I know. And the first time we've been out of the country since before Ella was born." Piper says, taking another sip of champagne

"Bora Bora. That was a good trip." Alex smiles

"Yeah, it was." Piper smiles, remembering the trip 5 years ago that ended up changing their lives forever. She snaps back to the present. "So do you wanna go to the falls?"

"Uh yeah." She says, sipping the last bit of champagne from her glasses and following Piper out of the pool.

They walk hand and hand to a little trail before Piper takes the lead on the narrow path.

After a bit, they come to a ledge overlooking a crystal blue lagoon.

"This is amazing." Alex says, pulling Piper to her side.

Piper leans her head on Alex's shoulder and they stand there, taking it all in.

"Wanna jump?" Alex finally speaks up, catching Piper off guard.

"What?"

"Want to jump? How else do you want to get down there?" Alex asks, laughing.

"Um, we can walk or climb down."

"That'll take forever. Let's just jump."

"Al it's like a 20 or 30 foot drop."

"So what? It's deep enough." She points to a sign off to the side of them that says this is deep water. "Come on. I'll hold your hand."

"I don't know. I mean, one of us has to be around to raise those 3 babies at home. We can't die in some cliff jumping accident." Piper laughs

"Don't be silly. It's fine. I swear. I asked the people. I've got you. It'll be fun." She says, holding out her hand for Piper. "Plus, think of the story you'll have."

Piper laughs at the line that she first heard almost 20 years ago in Java after an unfortunate food poisoning experience.

"Jesus Christ, Alex." She finally says, taking her hand.

"On the count of 3, we are gonna run and jump." Alex says, looking at Piper. "1..2..3..GO!" she says and they run to the edge, taking the plunge.

They hit the water, letting go of each other and swimming to the surface.

"Oh my God, that was insane!" Piper says, eyes wide

"Worth it?"

"Totally worth it." Piper says, wrapping her arms around Alex's neck and kissing her.

They swim at the lagoon for a while before the sun starts setting and they know they have to head back. They find a little path that leads them to the island road, and then they follow it back to the hut.

Piper goes in first and it greeted by candles. Lots of candles.

She smiles, turning to Alex who is behind her. "Al, did you do this?" she asks

"I might have." She smiles back at her. "Well follow the trail."

White rose petals line the trail to the back deck along with the candles to a table for two, surrounded by more candles and a man offering white wine.

They sit down.

"Al, this is incredible." She says, looking around.

There's twinkling lights strung up on the canopy and the deck railing has lights. The breeze comes off the ocean, making this even more perfect.

The waiter pours two glasses of wine.

"So, what do you think?"

"I think that I am the luckiest woman in the world." Piper smiles back, taking Alex's hand across the table.

"So how did you do all of this?" Piper asks, looking around

"That is a secret." Alex says, taking a sip of her wine.

The waiter brings out a beautifully decorated dish with noodles and vegetables, all perfectly arranged.

"Is it good?" Alex asks

"It's amazing. Like literally the best food ever." She says, taking another bite.

"Good, I'm glad you like it."

The waiter waits for them to finish before taking the plates away and quickly returning with dessert.

"Oh God, now I'm just being spoiled." Piper says, looking at the dish in front of them.

"Well you deserve it." Alex says, taking a bit onto her spoon and holding it for Piper to try.

She laughs at the noise Piper makes while she eats.

They sit there with each other, looking over the ocean, wind blowing, lights shining, sipping on white wine. Alex stands up and walks into the house, and Piper hears a song start playing.

She smiles when she recognizes it. It is a song played at their wedding. Ed Sheeran's "Thinking Out Loud".

Alex walks back out, holding her hand out for Piper. Piper takes her hand and Alex pulls her into her arms, swaying to the music.

_"Take me into your loving arms_

_Kiss me under the light of a thousand stars_

_Place your hand on my beating heart_

_I'm thinking out loud_

_That maybe we found love right where we are."_

"I love you." Piper says, whispering into Alex's ear

"I love you, too." She says, keeping her hand firmly on Piper's back, the other holding her hand. She closes her eyes, breathing in every moment, not wanting it to end, but eventually the song plays out.

"Wait here." Piper says, kissing her and pulling away.

A moment later she walks back out, a paper in her hand. She passes it to Alex. "Don't open it yet." She says.

"Alex Vause. Twenty years ago you changed my life forever, and while it wasn't perfect by any means for a while, it is perfect now. You're my best friend, my wife, my soul mate, and I wouldn't want to go through this life with anyone else." She says, wiping the tears from her eyes, and then running her thumb over Alex's cheek to catch the tears that are falling. They smile at each other. "And I was thinking that I really didn't know what to get you that would be equal to what you've given me all these years, which is love, acceptance, and a life worth living, but I was thinking that I could do one thing that would really show how much I love you, and that I always will-to show you that I am in this forever. So go ahead and open the letter." She says.

Alex opens the letter and begins to read it. A few seconds go by before she brings the letter down and kisses Piper so lovingly that is sends a wave through her. She looks into her eyes. "Pipes. I don't even know what to say." She says, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"Our kids have your last name, and now so do I. I'm in this Alex. Forever." She says, kissing her.

"Piper…Vause, I love you so much it hurts." She says, resting her forehead on Piper's. "I'm not good with the speeches or anything, but I really do love you. More than anything. You said you didn't know what you could give me that is better than what I've given you, and I have to say that's not true. You gave me three children, that I love more than life itself. You gave me a reason to go on, a reason to get up in the morning, and a reason to live. If you weren't here, none of this would matter. I'd have no reason to smile and love life. Yeah, our ups and downs were more than a normal couple, but we did it. And we're good. Hell, we are better than good. I love you so much, and I can't thank you enough for what you've given me." She says, before she can barely speak through the tears falling from her eyes.

Piper tries to catch her breath and wraps Alex up so tight that she is afraid she might crush her, but she never wants to let go.

They stand there under the lights, tightly wrapped in each other arms.

"I heart you." Alex finally chokes out

Piper laughs a little, "I heart you too." And she looks up into Alex's eyes. "Forever."

Alex takes her hands and leads her to the bedroom, gently shutting the door behind them.

_"Take me into your loving arms_

_Kiss me under the light of a thousand stars_

_Place your hand on my beating heart_

_I'm thinking out loud_

_That maybe we found love right where we are_

_Oh, baby, we found love right where we are_

_And we found love right where we are."_

**So there is the anniversary chapter I have been so looking forward to writing since the beginning of the story. I really hope you all like it. It was amazing to write them, like this, and I really love it, so I hope you do, too. The Ed Sheeran song gets me every time, and I just had to add it in. **

**Thank you for all the wonderful reviews on the last chapter, and thanks to all who have followed and favorited this story. It means a lot, and I can't thank you enough. Thanks for reading. A little while longer for them in Cambodia, so stay tuned. :)**


	45. Fun at the Beach

Alex wakes up to Piper walking in the bedroom. "Where did you go? I woke up and you weren't here." She says, putting her glasses on

"Sunrise Yoga. Al, it was amazing. You should go with me tomorrow." She says, wiping the sweat from her forehead.

"I'm gonna pass." She says

"Well I needed to stretch out. You should really go."

"Pipes, we could always do our own stretches here." She says, smiling and winking at her.

"You're ridiculous." She says, kissing her. "I need a shower…", and she takes off her shirt and pulls her hair our of its ponytail holder.

She walks to the bathroom, and Alex can't help but stare.

She hears the water turn on and waits a few minutes.

Piper is singing some song in the shower, and Alex laughs at the fact that she can't carry a tune to save her life, but she sure does try.

She gets up, taking off what little clothes she had on to begin with and joins Piper in the shower.

Piper turns to face her, massaging the shampoo in her hair, warm water cascading down her back.

"I won't join you for sunrise yoga, but I will join you in here." Alex says, wrapping her arms around Piper's waist. Alex runs her hands up her sides, but Piper grabs them.

"No funny business. We have stuff to do today." She says, turning her back to Alex.

Alex pouts for a second and helps her rinse the soap out of her hair. "Not even a little bit of funny business?" she asks after a minute.

Piper laughs, "Not even a little bit." And she steps out of the shower, slapping Alex on the ass on her way out, which makes her jump a little.

"I thought you said no funny business." Alex yells back at her.

"I don't know what you're talking about." An innocent voice says back to her, and she shakes her head and continues washing her hair.

She steps out of the shower and grabs a robe and walks out to the back deck where Piper is eating her breakfast. She sits down, and Piper's phone goes off.

"Oh, it's Nicky." She says, smiling and accepting the FaceTime.

Her screen is filled with Nicky and Aiden and Addie. Piper can't contain her smile as they light up when they realize who they're talking to.

"Al, it's the babies." She says, turning the screen so Alex can see them. She waves.

"Hey guys. I miss you." She says, and they try and touch the screen.

"What time is it there?" Piper asks after getting passed the initial excitement of seeing her kids for the first time in almost a week.

"Uh, 9:45. They kept asking for you guys, so I had to call."

"Aw, well we miss you guys. Love you very much." Piper says, blowing kisses to the screen.

"How are they?" Alex asks, and Piper turns the screen so Nicky can see her.

"They're good. Not a problem. Keeping up with these two though. I have no idea how you two do it." She laughs, pulling her hair back

"Lots of patience" Alex says back to her. "We will be back in 2 days. You'll be okay?"

"Yeah, we're just chilling. We'll be fine. Right guys?" she says, but they don't care to answer her as they're distracted by the screen. "Okay, well we will go and you two have fun and we will see ya in 2 days."

"Bye Addie and Aiden!" Piper and Alex say, waving goodbye.

"Bye Nicky, see ya later." Piper says, and the screen goes black.

"I miss them." Alex says, pulling Piper over to her.

"Me too." Piper says, curling into her. "So, today is my day to take you out and show you a good time, so go and get dressed because I have a whole day planned." She says, excitedly, pulling Alex out of the chair.

"I kind of love that bikini on you." Alex says, looking at Piper who is walking in front of her down the street.

"Oh yeah? More than the black one?" Piper says over her shoulder.

"Ooh, that's a tough one. I really love that black bikini. But this one is good too. It's different."

"Well coral is very in." Piper says, flashing that bright white smile.

She is wearing the coral colored bikini, a white loose knit cover up, and a large sun hat that she picked up while they were at the local shop.

"Where exactly are we going?" Alex asks, as she's being lead by Piper down the road

"You'll see. Trust me. You're gonna love it. I found it on my run this morning."

They walk for a bit before Piper turns them off onto a little trail, and they walk down a narrow path in the woods.

"Jesus, Pipes, what the hell were you doing running back here?"

"Just was curious. It's fine. Totally safe." She assures Alex

They finally come to a clearing and what is in front of them takes Alex's breath away.

"Pipes, this is amazing." She says, squeezing Piper's hand.

"I thought you'd like it." She smiles at her

They look at the little private beach. White sand, the bluest water, little piles of rocks off to the sides that line the edges of the water, and there isn't anyone on the beach. Perfect.

Piper tugs on Alex's hand and walks with her down to the water. They walk in until they are waist deep and Piper turns to face Alex.

"So has this vacation been everything you wanted?"

"It's been amazing. Everything I could have ever wanted..." She says, grabbing Piper's waist and pulling her close. She places a kiss on her chest. "And then some." She smiles into her skin

Piper hums, "Oh yeah?." She smiles.

"Yeah." She grins, biting her lip.

"Well is there anything that could make it any better?"

Alex stands there, thinking for a minute, and then a smiles spreads across her face, and she lights up. "Yes."

"Well what?"

Alex looks around and runs her hands up Piper's back and stops at the bathing suit top tie.

"Al, no. You're gonna make it fall off. I am not having sex with you on this beach."

"Who said we were gonna have sex? And yes, I want to make it fall off." She gives a devious little smile.

"Wait, you want to skinny dip?"

Alex nods excitedly.

"How old are you?"

"Not too old to skinny dip, that's for sure." She laughs.

"Jesus. Fine. Okay, but you take yours off first."

"You wanna do the honors?" she asks, raising her eyebrow and Piper smiles.

"Oh of course." And she grabs the tie and pulls it, loosening the tie and then grabs the neck tie and gives it a tug before it falls to the water. She then slips her hands down to the waistband of her bottoms, and pulls them down, and Alex steps out of them.

Piper looks her over. "You better hope nobody comes walking down to this beach." She says before untying her tops and kicking off her bottoms.

They throw them up to the beach and move to deeper water, just incase someone does happen to come down to the beach.

"Don't want to be flashing my good to everyone on this island." Alex laughs.

"I swear, if someone walks down her, I might die." She says, looking over Alex's shoulder to check the beach again.

"Oh relax. It'll be fine. Now get over here and let me enjoy this whole skinny dipping idea." She laughs.

Piper walks to her and wraps her arms around her neck and kisses her.

She runs her leg up the side of Alex's and deepens the kiss.

"Well for someone who didn't want to skinny dip, you sure are enjoying yourself." Alex laughs at her, pushing her hair back off her face.

"Oh shut up." Piper says.

Alex pushes her back a little. "What did you just say? Piper Vause, you are in a very vulnerable spot right now." She says, smiling at her.

"Oh yeah? And what are you gonna do?" Piper taunts her.

"You really want to know?" she asks, in a warning tone.

"Yeah. I really wanna know."

"You asked for it." And she leans forward, dipping Piper into the water, completely submerging her.

She brings her back up a second later and a shocked Piper is staring up at her. "Al, I can't believe you just dunked me. How old are you? 12?"

"Well you said you wanted to know." She teases her.

"I'm so gonna get you back." She splashes her.

"You're so on." Alex gives her a devilish smile before wrapping her up to dunk her again.

And their playing fighting ensues…

Piper finally makes I back up to the beach and throws on her swimsuit as fast as she can and tosses Alex hers. She fumbles with the top, and luckily nobody showed up the entire time.

Alex chases Piper up the beach and finally catches up to her, which Piper must have wanted because they both know she can outrun Alex any day.

Alex pulls her down to the sand, and hovers over top of her. They laugh and she looks into her eyes for a moment before crashing their lips together.

Alex runs her fingertips down Piper's stomach, sliding her hand into her bikini bottoms and cupping her mound.

Piper breathes in.

"Al, I am not having sex on a beach. Sand in bad places. If that's what you wanna do, we have to wait until later."

"Ugh, come on."

"No. I am not dealing with that. I learned my lesson in my twenties, the last time we were here an had sex on the beach. No thank you. It's fun while it lasts, but the aftermath is so not worth it." She laughs.

"Oh fine. But when we get back, you so owe me." She says, rolling off of Piper, and laying on her back, looking at the sky.

Piper turns on her side to look at her. She looks at her face. Really looks at it. The little lines that have formed on her skin over the years, the way her hair still shines as dark as the day she met her. How her lips are the fullest lips she's ever seen. She's still the most beautiful woman she's ever seen.

"I love you." She says, looking at Alex.

It catches Alex off guard and she looks at Piper for a moment. "I love you, too." She says, turning to face her.

She pauses for a second before she speaks up. "If you had to do it all over again, would you do it the same?" Piper asks, playing with the sand.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean me, this, our life. All of it."

"Is this for real?" Alex asks, pulling Piper's chin up so she can look her in the eye.

"Yeah, really. Would you do it all the same?"

"I wouldn't change any of it." She says quickly. "Not a thing."

"Not even the whole prison thing?"

"Not even the prison thing." Alex says. "Because I wouldn't have gotten back to you."

Piper smiles.

"What about you?" Alex asks

"Yeah, I would do it all again. For sure."

"Well good, because I wouldn't want it any other way."

"Me either." Piper says, pulling her in for a kiss. "Alex Vause. Take me home." She says, biting her lip.

"Alright, kid." She says, getting up and pulling Piper to her feet.

**First off, I am so sorry for the delay in updates. I had to go to Florida...family emergency. This is the first chance I've had to write a new chapter, and I knew I needed to post and update. Hopefully you like it. I put it together in an hour, so it may not be very good, so apologies if it isn't. Again, so sorry. **

**Thanks to all the new followers and readers for checking this story out. It is awesome, so thank you. And thanks to all the old followers and readers who have stuck with this story for a while, you are all amazing. Thanks for all the reviews on the last chapter. Thanks again for reading, and being patient with the wait! **


	46. First Day

Their last day in Cambodia was spent under the covers, tangled up in each other, making up for the lack of alone time they have had over the last couple of years. As much as they loved it there, by the time they are set to go and get back to their kids.

Life goes back to normal after vacation. Kids, work, life.

Before they know it, the summer is gone and when Alex gets up one early September morning, she realizes what today is.

"Jesus Christ." She says, and she walks to the kitchen to start a pot of coffee.

She brings two steaming cups back to the room, and wakes Piper up.

"Pipes, you've got to get up." She whispers into her ear.

The blonde rolls over, and you give her a minute before waking her up again, and then time she actually gets up.

"It's today." You say, taking a sip of your coffee.

She looks at you and then grabs her phone from the nightstand, and looks at the date. September 8.

"I can't believe it." She says, sitting into the headboard and drinking her coffee

"We probably need to get them up in a few minutes." Alex says, and Piper just nods.

Alex goes and gets the babies up, and Piper walks into Ella's room.

She sits on the edge of her bed and pushes her blonde hair off her face.

"Baby, time to get up. First day of school." She says, still in shock that she actually just said those words.

Ella opens her eyes. She is excited, and has been rambling on about it for days. She gets up and brushes her teeth, and puts on the clothes that Piper had already helped her pick out the night before.

"Does it look good?" Ella asks, looking in the mirror

"You look beautiful." Alex says, walking into the room. "You excited?"

"Yeah!" she says, grabbing the brush and running it through her hair.

Ella is dancing at the apartment door, waiting for Alex and Piper and the babies.

"Alright, El, you have everything? Backpack, lunch.."

"Yes, Mommy. I have it all." She says, hanging from the door knob.

"Okay, well let's go." Piper says, picking Addie up out of the high chair and Alex picks up Aiden. They head down to the car.

"Bye Aiden. Bye Addie." Piper and Alex say to them, when they drop them off at Nicky's. Ella is waiting in the car, and Alex gets into the driver's seat, and pulls off the curb and heads to the preschool that's a little ways away.

Ella is chatting in the backseat, just rambling on.

Alex pulls up, and Piper lets Ella out, making sure she grabs her bag and her lunch.

They walk in and that once super excited and confident little girl vanishes, and now Ella is standing there, clinging to Piper's pant leg.

"Baby, it's okay. You'll make friends and it will be fun." She says, taking her hand." Piper tells her.

"Ella Vause." Alex says to the woman out front, and she signs her in. They walk in with her, meeting the teacher who tells her to go pick a cubby and put her stuff in it. She comes back to Piper and holds her leg again.

"El, Nicky will be back to pick you up later. Okay?" Alex says, squatting down so she is eye level with her. "And you'll be fine. Talk to people and be good. Okay?" she says, rubbing her arm

Ella nods, and Alex kisses her forehead.

Piper bends down in front of her.

"Have fun. I love you." She says, and she hugs her, and Ella buries her face in her neck. Piper rubs her back. "Okay, we're gonna go. Love you, baby." She says, and the teacher takes Ella's hand, leading her over to the other kids. Piper looks over her shoulder as they're walking out to see Ella looking over her shoulder, watching them leave.

They get back in the car, and that's when it hits Piper. Tears well up in her eye, and she tries to blink them away, but it doesn't work. Alex gets in and buckles up when she sees Piper.

"Pipes, what's wrong?" she asks, taking her hand

She sniffles, "It's just. She's growing up and it makes me a little sad. Because it's going by really fast." She says, looking at Alex.

Alex's heart breaks for Piper, because she feels it too.

"I know, babe. It's hard. But she's gonna be fine. Really. This is good." She says, putting her hand on Piper's cheek.

"I know she'll be fine, it's just sad. Next is Kindergarten, and then middle school, and high school, and then. Oh God. And then college and she's gone." She says really fast.

"Pipes. Relax. It's okay. Let her get through preschool first. We have a while before we have to worry about all that, and definitely a long time before college. Okay? It's okay to be sad. But it's all gonna be fine." She says, pulling Piper's face towards her, and kissing her. Piper leans her forehead into Alex's shoulder, and Alex puts one hand on the back of her neck, and rubs her back with the other.

They stay like that for a couple minutes, and Piper finally pulls away.

"Sorry" she says, smiling, and checking her face in the dropdown mirror. Alex takes her hand.

"It's okay. Don't apologize." She smiles at her, and she drives away from the curb and they head to work.

Alex kisses her, and walks into the offices in the back part of the store, and Piper meets Polly at the checkout counter.

"Pipes, are you okay?" Polly asks, looking at her.

"Yeah, I'm fine" she says softly, "Just a rough morning." She pauses for a moment, and she can feel Polly staring at her, waiting for her to spill the beans. "It's Ella's first day of Pre-K."

"Aw, Pipes. It's okay. You should've seen me on Finn's first day. I was a wreck." She says, brushing her arm. Piper smiles at her.

The whole day, Piper periodically checks her phone until Nicky finally texts her.

**Nicky: Hey, I picked her up. She seems good. Will see ya when you come and get her.**

**Piper: Thanks, Nicky. See ya later.**

Piper closes the front of the shop and Alex meets her by the exit.

"Ready to go?"

"Yeah." Piper smiles, taking her hand and walking to the car.

A little while after they get home, Nicky knocks on the door, and Alex opens it. In walks Aiden and Addie, and Ella is close behind them.

"Hey, guys." Alex says, hugging and kissing the twins, and then they go over to their toy bin, because that's what they care about the most.

Alex kneels down and takes Ella's backpack.

"Hey baby. How was your first day?" she asks.

"Good. I met lots of people."

"Oh yeah. Make some friends?" Piper asks, walking over and giving her a hug, grateful to have her back here, even though she hasn't been gone that long.

"Yeah, Jade, and Emma, and Leah, and Ellie, and Jack." She smiles at Piper

"Well that's great. I'm glad you had a good first day." Piper says, kissing the top of her head.

Nicky sticks around for dinner sine Lorna is with her family in New Jersey.

She helps clean up before she heads out and Alex and Piper begin their night routine of baths, bedtime stories, late night laundry, and eventually they get into bed.

"First day of school…done." Alex says, pulling Piper into her.

"I know. And the only tears were from me." She laughs at herself

"Well she made friends, which is great. At least she's not the strange kid who sat in the corner all day."

"Yeah, I'm glad she had fun."

"Ya did good, Pipes." Alex says squeezing her.

Piper turns and looks up at her. "Nah, we did good." She smiles, kissing Alex.

**So, first of all, Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, whatever you choose, know that I wish you the best of times. Second, sorry again for the delay in update. I just got back from Florida and got that whole situation sorted for the most part, but updates probably won't be as frequent until everything is totally settled. **

**Hopefully you enjoyed the update. Writing them as vulnerable characters is always more interesting for me because it is a different approach in writing, so I hope you liked it. I mentioned a few chapters ago that I was going to start skipping by months, but I think to keep it interesting, I may have to start skipping by more than a couple of months to several months, but nothing more than a year, because I don't want it to move that fast, so hopefully you stick with it. I have a pretty clear path of where things are going, and have written a few chapters for a bit into the future, which I am so excited for you to read once we get there. I am also toying with the idea of flashbacks, because they are such a big part in the show, and I want to throw them into this story. So hang on, and hopefully it keeps you entertained. **

**Thank you again for the follows, favorites, and all reviews. They are all wonderful. I appreciate every one of you. Thank you for everything. **


	47. If I Could, I Would

"What do you mean you're gonna miss it?"

"I mean I'm not gonna be here. They called me out for a meeting in L.A. Pipes, if there was any way I could get out of it, I would."

"You're missing Ella's Thanksgiving play."

"I know. Trust me, I hate that I'm gonna miss it."

"Yeah, well you get to be the one to tell her that her Mommy can't be at her play because she has to work."

"Wait, so you're pissed at me? I said I was sorry. What more do you want me to do?"

"I want you to be here."

The words hit Alex, and they sting. She looks back at Piper who is folding laundry on the floor of their bedroom. She can't hold back as she feels anger building inside of her.

"Jesus Christ. I'm always fucking here. Don't twist it like I'm never around. I don't miss any things that they do. All three of them. This is literally the first thing I'm missing. You think I want to miss her play?"

Piper looks at her. Alex hasn't raised her voice like that in a long time.

"I think that you could get out of that meeting if you wanted to." Piper says, and turns and walks out of the bedroom door.

Alex sits on the bed. Jesus, what more does Piper want from her? And how dare she get so pissed. Alex didn't plan any of this. And if she could get out of the meeting she would.

Alex gets up and walks into Ella's room.

"Hey El, can I talk to you for a sec?"

Ella is drawing a picture on the floor of her room. She nods her head.

"What are you drawing?"

"A cat." Ella smiles. That seems to be the subject of most of her drawings…she even asked for one for Christmas.

"So, you know how sometimes I have to go away for work?"

"Yeah" she stays looking at her drawing.

"And how I sometimes have to be gone for a couple of days."

Ella looks up at her, those green eyes looking straight at her, and she gets a lump in her throat.

"Well, they asked me to go to California for a few days. But the problem is that because I have to go, I won't get home in time for your Thanksgiving play." She says

Ella's face drops, "So you aren't gonna be there to see me?" she says, softly.

"I wish I could, baby. But I have to go, and I hate that I am going to miss it. I want to be there so bad."

Tears well up in her eyes, and Alex grabs her and pulls her towards her.

"Oh El. I'm so sorry. I wish more than anything that I could be there. But I know you will do so well, and you'll be amazing. And Mama will record it for me so I can watch it, and then when I get back, I promise I will make it up to you." She says, pulling her forward so she can look at her. She brushes back her blonde hair. "I'm so sorry, El."

"It's okay, Mommy." She says "I can read you my lines when you come back so you can see me."

Alex smiles at her daughter and hugs her again. "Okay, that sounds good." She rubs her back. "I love you, okay?"

"I love you too." Ella says, and she goes back to her drawing.

Alex looks at her hard before she walks out the door and goes to take a shower.

She turns the water on, and lets it warm before getting in. She thinks about how sad Ella looked, and the tears fall. She leans into the wall, holding her hands to her face. Nothing worse in the world than letting your kid down. The hot water rolls over her skin.

"Fuck." Is all she says.

She gets out and gets into bed. Piper is laying on her side, not facing her, so she does the same. This is the first fight in a long time. A very long time.

Things are awkward and tense.

Simple one word replies from each other.

This isn't them.

Alex is sitting in their apartment with Nicky while Piper is out with Polly and the kids for the day.

"So you and Piper. What the fuck is going on?"

"So I guess you've noticed the tension."

"Uh, how could I not? What happened?"

"Well a company out in LA called last week and they want me to come out and make a deal a couple days before Thanksgiving, but the thing is, I'm missing El's play."

"Shit. That sucks."

"Yeah, and Piper is really fucking mad at me, and I let Ella down. And the whole things sucks." She says, pushing her glasses to the top of her head.

"Well, I'll go to the play. I'll go in your place." Nicky says

"You would do that?"

"Of course I would. I love her. I'll be there, and I'll send lots of pictures." Nicky smiles.

Nicky Nichols has come a long way from her days in Litchfield.

Alex smiles at her. "Thanks, Nick."

Alex leaves the next day, flying out to LA. Piper didn't say much to her when she left. "Safe trip. Text me when you get there." Very basic stuff…

She hugged the kids goodbye, making sure to focus on Ella, and remind her that she'll be thinking about her the whole time and that when she gets back they're gonna go over her lines so she can see it live.

The day of the play, she calls Piper.

"Hey, I wanted to talk to El before her play." Alex says

"Okay. El, it's Mommy. She wants to talk to you."

"Hi mommy!" the little girl chirps into the phone.

"Hey El. I just wanted to say good luck on your play tonight. You are going to be amazing."

"Thanks." She says happily

"I love you."

"Love you too. Here's Mama."

"Ok—" Alex says

"Guess we'll see you when you get back."

"Pipes—"

"Not right now."

Alex sighs into the phone. "Love you."

"You too." She says, and the line goes dead.

"Aw, El, you look great." Piper says, straightening out her Pilgrim costume.

They get in the car and head to the school. Ella runs to her teacher and is taken to the back of the stage and Piper takes the twins and heads to find Nicky, who is already in the seats.

"Hey guys." Nicky says, waving them over.

She picks Aiden up and sets him on her lap. "Hey big guy." He gives her a hug. "Hey Addie. You look very pretty." She smiles at her.

"Say thank you." Piper whispers to her.

"Thank you." The little girl smiles. Piper puts her on her lap.

The lights go dim and the play starts. Ella happily walks out on stage, waving at Piper and Nicky who wave back. Piper starts taking pictures.

It is a very cute play. Ella does all of her lines perfectly, and Piper is so proud of her.

Ella runs out after the play and they go up to meet her.

"Baby, you did so good." Piper says, hugging her.

"You remembered all your lines. I'm so proud of you." She smiles

"Rocked it girlie." Nicky says, and Ella hugs her legs.

"She did amazing. Deserves an award." A familiar voice comes from a few rows back.

Piper turns and there is Alex, standing there. And she can't hold back the smile.

"Mommy!" Ella yells, running to get to her.

"Hey, El. You were awesome. Killed it." She says, picking her up and hugging her.

"When did you get here?" Ella asks, so excited.

"Right before it started. I saw the whole thing she smiles at Ella.

Ella wraps her arm around her neck.

"Well Vause. You've done it again." Nicky says, punching her arm.

"Al, how did—"

"I wasn't going to miss this for anything." She says, smiling at Piper, shifting Ella over to her hip.

She grabs Piper and pulls her into a hug. Piper whispers in her ear.

"I'm sorry, Al. For the passed couple weeks."

"Pipes, don't." Alex says, tucking her hair behind her ear and resting her hand on the side of her face. She places a soft kiss on her lips. She whispers as she pulls away. "You can apologize later…" and she locks eyes with her.

They take Ella out for ice cream before heading home. Nicky stays until they're all done, and then she parts ways, heading back to her apartment.

They get the twins cleaned up, and then in bed. Ella takes a bath and gets in bed, Alex lays with her until she falls asleep.

"Mommy?"

"Yeah, El?"

"Thank you for coming." She says, snuggling into her side.

Alex's heart warms, and she smiles pulling her closer to her, and kisses the top of her head.

"Wouldn't miss it, kid." She smiles.

Ella falls asleep, and gets up, shutting out the light.

She walks into the room and Piper is laying on the bed, texting.

She stops when Alex walks in.

"Al, I'm so sorry for everything. I've been such an ass and–"

Her words are cut off when Alex kisses her.

"You were an ass, but you had a reason."

Piper looks up at her.

"Now about that apology…" Alex smirks

"You got it." Piper says, pulling her onto the bed.

**So a bit of tension for Vauseman, but it all works out in the end because I can't have them made at each other for long. As reviewer Sarsc said, "No relationship is perfect, specially not with kids.". **

**Thanks for all the reviews on the last chapter, they are always awesome, adn appreciated. For those who have tuned into my other story, ****_And I Cant Breathe_****, and reviewed, followed, and favorited, thanks so much. You are all awesome. **

**Hopefully you all liked this chapter, and thanks for reading. :)**


	48. Moving On

"Shit!" Alex says, hitting her pinky toe on the coffee table as she walks by.

"25 cents in the jar." Ella says, smirking at her.

"Yeah, yeah, I know the drill." She says looking down at her feet.

Piper walks out into the living room, stepping over the twins who are laying on the floor, eyes glued to the TV.

"El, scoot." She says, and Ella moves over about a foot on the couch and Piper plops down next to her.

Ella lays her head in her lap, keeping her eyes on the tv.

Alex comes back into the living room with two cups of coffee and hands one to Piper.

Saturday mornings usually consist of them all huddled in the living room watching some cartoon that the twins or Ella have picked out.

Alex sips her coffee and looks around. Toys, children, backpacks, everything all over the place.

The twins are 4 now. Ella is 6, almost 7.

After an hour or so of cartoons, Alex finally speaks up.

"Okay, we have got to do something about the mess in this house." She says, turning off the tv.

Piper looks over at her, waiting for her to keep going.

"El, you need to clean your room. Addie and Aiden, you need to clean your room, and then all three of you can pick up your toys in the living room and put them where they need to go."

A collective sigh comes from the kids.

"But—" Aiden says, ready to protest

"You heard Mommy. Go do it." Piper says sternly. They all get up and head to their rooms. "A little much?" she asks Alex

"Stuff everywhere. It's driving me nuts." She says, getting up and washing out her coffee mug. "And I swear if I step on another Lego or hot wheels car, I'm throwing them all out."

Piper laughs, because she knows exactly what Alex is talking about. The kid's stuff is absolutely everywhere. On the floors, on the furniture, in the bathrooms, just everywhere.

Ella walks out into the living room and starts gathering all her toys a second later, and then into the kitchen, breaking the two apart to put something away.

"Babe, we have no space in this place anymore." Alex says, stepping back and leaning against the counter.

"What do you mean?"

"Well we are being overrun by dolls and action figures and kids stuff, and they take up a lot of room. I'm just saying, maybe it's time that we think about getting a bigger place." Alex says, judging Piper's reaction

"We talked about it awhile ago, but do you really think we need to do that now?" She asks

Alex nods her head. "Yeah, I do. We have no room. I mean, we are all on top of each other. It's so cramped."

"Well I guess this summer would be good for it. Ella could start a new school in the fall, and the twins would be heading to preschool. I guess if we were gonna do it, that would be the time."

"It's just a suggestion." Alex says

Later that night, Alex is laying in bed reading, her usual pre bedtime routine when Piper walks in and gets under the covers. She turns on her side, and Alex can feel her eyes on her.

"Do you really want to move?" Piper says softly

"I think we need to consider it. We are out of room here. 3 kids and then us. This apartment isn't cutting it."

"But this is our home, Al."

"Yeah, but another place could be our home."

"This is where we've lived almost 12 years. We brought Ella and the twins home here." She says softly

Alex watches her face drop and tears well up in her eyes. She puts her hand under her skin and lifts to make her look her in the eye.

"Hey, I know. There are so many memories here. The best years of my life have been here with you, and with them. But we can make new ones somewhere else." she says, wiping the stray tear falling down Piper's cheek with her thumb

Piper nods softly

"It doesn't change what happened here, and we will always remember them." She pauses "Like our first free Thanksgiving, or when Ella learned to walk in the hallway, or when you told me that we were gonna have another baby in the kitchen." She smiles at her, wiping the tears away.

Piper smiles back on the memories. "Those were all really good memories."

"Yeah, and that's just 3 of them. There are so many more. But we can have a ton more in a new place. I promise." She says

"I know. It's just sad."

"I know it's sad, but we really need to do it. I mean, the twins can't share a room forever." Alex laughs softly "And think of all the decorating you'll get to do." She says, trying to cheer her up

"Ooh, I get a blank canvas." She says, eyes lighting up.

"Yeah, a new start."

"So like outside of the city, or are we gonna stay here, just get a bigger apartment?" Piper asks

Alex stops for a minute. She's really only ever lived in the city, and the thought of a house outside of the city is so domestic, that it kind of freaks her out. But honestly, that's probably what would be best.

"As much as I love the city, the kids need a house. An apartment in the city that's big enough for all of us is gonna be so expensive."

"Alex Vause. I never pictured you with the whole white picket fence and everything." Piper says, smiling as she gives her a gentle kiss.

"We will not be doing the whole white picket thing. Our house is gonna be badass. Not waspy." She raises her eyebrows at Piper

"Fine. It won't be waspy." Piper says, playfully rolling her eyes

A couple months go by and they find a house outside of the city. Not too far, so they can still commute into work a couple of times a week, but far enough so that they can actually have a yard, and a driveway, and neighborhood kids for Ella, Aiden, and Addie to play with.

It's a nice house. A front porch, 2 stories. The kids rooms are upstairs, and Alex and Piper's is on the main level. Ella picks lavender as her color, Aiden picks blue, and Addie picks light green.

"Pipes, it's beautiful." Alex says, looking at what she's done to their room. It's all cool colors. Blues, greens, light colored wood furniture. "It looks kind of like the place we stayed in—"

"Cambodia." Piper says, all giddy

"Yeah, exactly."

"That's what I was going for. I was hoping you'd notice!" she says like a little kid

"It's gorgeous." She kisses Piper, but instead of pulling away she deepens the kiss, and pulls Piper up onto the bed. "Is everyone in bed?"

"Yeah" Piper breathes out as Alex nips at her neck.

"Good. I think it's only right that we christen the new room." Alex smiles into her skin

"I totally agree" she moans out

"Good." Alex says in a low voice, lifting Piper's shirt over her head, and kissing a trail down her chest.

Piper and Alex lie there on the bed, panting and covered in a thin layer of sweat.

Alex rolls to her side and traces patterns on Piper's thigh.

"I think we properly christened it." She smiles, kissing her shoulder

"I think so—" Piper pants out

"You like it here?" Alex says, propping herself up on her elbow and looking at the flushed blonde.

"Yeah, I love it. Don't you?"

Alex just laughs for a second

"What's so funny?"

"Oh nothing. It's just funny to me that we've come from traveling all over the world, to having 3 kids, and a house. A fucking house. Like, we are real adults." She smiles

"Real adults. Oh God." Piper laughs

"I love it." Alex says, smiling back at Piper

"Yeah. Me too." And she kisses her

**First, I am so sorry for the whole disappearing for a month thing. Things have been crazy with the holidays, and then getting back into the whole groove of a new semester at school. I knew I had to give you guys something though, so hopefully you like it. It maybe be total garbage, since on top of the whole lack of time, any time I've tried to write something, I keep coming up blank. Severe writers block. But I tried, and yeah. **

**Also, just want to thank all the new followers, and of course to those who have been following for a while. Thank you to those who have favorited this story. Also a huge thanks to all the reviewers. You are the best!**

**I will try to never let it go a month without an update again, and thanks for all the patience!**


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